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Green Bay Packers a great fit for NFL in London

By Keegan Matheson

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The Green Bay Packers will reportedly be crossing the pond in 2016. According to a report from Ryan O’Halloran of Jacksonville.com, he expects owner Shad Khan could announce that the Green Bay Packers will face his Jacksonville Jaguars next season as part of the league’s continuing efforts to expand the game outside of the United States.

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Quarterback Aaron Rodgers certainly won’t argue the news if it does come to fruition. In a May interview with Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin, Rodgers admitted that one of his “bucket list” items is playing a game in London. “I would love to play in Wembley [Stadium],” Rodgers told Wilde, and the link had already been made at that time with Green Bay scheduled to play an away game at Jacksonville in 2016.

The NFL has recently deepened their commitment to growing the game in London and beyond, and including a team like the Packers is an intelligent step in doing so. Fans who are uncertain of the NFL or only follow highlights from overseas irregularly will already be familiar with the name Aaron Rodgers. They will recognize the overdramatic hair flips of Clay Matthews, and the game-breaking abilities of Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Eddie Lacy.

In many instances over the past several seasons, London has been given teams that, despite being of great interest to an American market, lack the star power and “wow” factor to reel the undecided demographic of the European audience.

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I believe that it is still important to continue Jacksonville’s role in London, too, and perhaps even expand it. The Jaguars are a team that is being rebuilt from the ground up, and as this new market watches them slowly mature into a contending NFL team, the shared growth may help for the Jags to become “their” team.

The clear concern that we’ll hear over the coming year regarding the Packers is the increased risk of injury that some associate with the London games, and the potential for fatigue following the lengthy travel. I’m of the belief that London games should be followed with bye weeks whenever possible, but I’ll hesitate to become too frantic over the lesser playing surface unless concerns arise closer to the game itself.

This reported matchup would also offer valuable international exposure for a franchise from the NFL’s smallest city, one that often does not generate the mainstream exposure of a New York or Dallas. While this is good news for Green Bay and another positive step for Jacksonville, I still can’t wholeheartedly get behind the idea of a permanent London franchise.

While the increased injury risk may be mild in a one-week scenario, the necessity to cross the Atlantic Ocean for all away games could result notable fatigue over a full schedule. The scheduling nightmare that this would create would also impact eight other teams who would be forced to travel overseas, especially when a short week could enter the picture with Monday Night Football in play.

Additionally, there is the issue of luring players to live and work outside of the United States. The young men entering the NFL have families and support groups established in the United States, so uprooting to a foreign land will not appeal to everyone. Perhaps a veteran would enjoy the vacation on a one-year deal late in their career, but do NFL players want to sign a five or six year contract with a London expansion franchise? Thankfully, that question is likely long down the road.

For now, the NFL appears to be getting one right with the Packers and Jaguars facing off in 2016. This game will feature a team that has risen to the NFL mountaintop, and a team that is just setting out on the same hopeful journey.

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