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NFL in London: Pros and cons of putting team across the pond

By Michael Pallas

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 01: Fans arrive at the stadium prior to kickoff the NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium on October 1, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 01: Fans arrive at the stadium prior to kickoff the NFL game between the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints at Wembley Stadium on October 1, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: A general view during the NFL International Series match between Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on September 24, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: A general view during the NFL International Series match between Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on September 24, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /

Pros

There are two major pros of bringing an NFL team to London. The first is that you have the eyes watching the program on television. This novelty factor may be a huge reason for this, but it would only be 16 weeks per year, and once a week. So, it may not see a huge drop.

According to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News local viewership on the major cable networks BBC and Sky Sports are up from last year. In fact, they are up 80 percent. Having that on a weekly basis would be huge for the NFL in terms of revenue.

The second major hurdle for any pro sports entity, especially one like the NFL, is getting support for the team, which Waller says they already have. According to Breer, Waller said this:

"We feel the fan demand is here, we feel the stadium infrastructure and optionality is here, we feel the government support is here. We feel the logistics and training side of it are here. We feel very good."

So everything is in place for an NFL to move to London. Yes, I said move, because expansion makes no sense for the NFL, because the league is set up perfectly with the regular season and playoff systems that adding an expansion team makes no logistical sense, and that brings us to the cons of a London team.

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