The National Football League is an ever-expanding league with many opportunities to spread the sport in other countries. The expansion of the NFL would benefit it economically, increase viewership and find standout players who could make careers for themselves in the NFL. Since there are already so many fans around the world, a team in another country could help spread the love of football even more.
So far, the NFL has played games in Germany, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Brazil. These games have had lots of success and created large fan bases for the sport in these countries. Per cincyjungle.com, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has expressed much excitement at playing in Madrid, Spain, this upcoming season. In 2024, the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots had an attendance of over 86 thousand at Wembley Stadium. According to americanfootballinternational.com, there are around 6 million NFL fans in the United Kingdom and around 6.5 million in Germany. These two countries make up the largest fan bases of the NFL that are outside the United States. If the NFL added, say, a team in London and one in Frankfurt, the fan base would continue to grow and increase the popularity of the sport across the Atlantic.
Since there are no teams currently in any other country, with the expansion of the league, there would come many logistical challenges in being able to make this happen. First off, it would be difficult to schedule games since teams would need many days to travel and adjust for a game in London or Germany. If the NFL were to expand its league and have teams overseas, the travel to and from the United States would more than likely be impractical and be harmful to their players. In addition, it would be difficult to get enough people to attend the home games for an expansion team since it would be competing with sports like rugby and soccer. Furthermore, it would be very probable that the away games would be filled with only the home team’s fans while the away team’s fans sit at home. To top things off, it would be hard for a team based outside of the United States to get players to sign with them since they or their families may not want to leave their home country.
While expanding beyond the U.S. may seem like an obvious next step for the NFL, there isn’t a definitive answer as to whether it’s the right move for the organization. To make the right choice, the NFL must continue hosting games in more and more countries, allowing it to evaluate fan interest, logistical challenges, and long-term viability before committing to a full expansion.
