Roger Goodell reiterates NFL having an international team is inevitable

Dumb idea.

Congrats, Toronto.

In all seriousness, if not Canada, it’s hard to see anywhere other than London for a permanent team internationally. Even that would be a stretch, but theoretically doable.

They’d probably want to arrange it so they play 3 straight road games each time they travel to the U.S., then 3 straight home, etc., so they only make 3 trans-Atlantic trips per season. But don’t know how well being gone from home 3 straight weeks would sit with the NFLPA.

We are in an odd era of rich dudes telling everyone something that no one wants is inevitable

Imagine a day where:

The international team is Good.

They host a Divisional Round playoff game.

The winner of that game has to fly across the fricking Atlantic Ocean to turn around and play in a Conference Championship game.

Isn't it generally accepted there is a bigger fan base in Germany and something in Frankfurt or Munich will work? Idk why we keep seeing London when it doesn't really seem to be taking off even with these games

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We are in an odd era of rich dudes telling everyone something that no one wants is inevitable

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Hopefully the rich dudes eventually find out

I think the players association will push back too hard if Canada isn’t the expansion country. Nobody wants to be forced to live in another country, across the pond.

Would putting a team in Toronto kill Buffalo?

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Would putting a team in Toronto kill Buffalo?

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I don’t think so. Bills are obviously a ridiculously passionate fanbase and you’d still have all of upstate (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse) plus probably some in Ontario who wouldn’t change allegiances. NFL is also largely driven by TV / national deals anyway, not as much by the gate / local TV like MLB/NHL. If anything, it would probably be a really fun rivalry.

But that said, it definitely would cut a little into the fanbase, and I think (not positive) the Bills could block a Toronto move (and would almost certainly do so).

Just such a weird thing for them to do. You'd think Toronto is such an easy lay up but guess they want to protect the Bills?

Goodell is wishcasting here. This has been a pet project of his from the beginning, but it's not going to happen anytime soon and he knows it.

For starters, they have already determined that it is not feasible to have an overseas franchise until there is supersonic passenger travel again, and neither the airlines nor the 2 manufacturers are anywhere close to returning to that. Until someone develops a fuel-efficient supersonic jet engine that can power a plane the size of a 787, that is DOA.

No supersonic travel, no international franchise. And he knows that.

Also, as long as the safety people insist in players playing in the same equipment week after week, no international franchise. They would not be able to keep flying the equipment back and forth over the ocean, so they would need a full practice facility and a complete set of equipment over there and over here. Not to mention the disadvantage of an overseas team's needing to fund 2 facilities and 2 complete sets of stuff.

No, not hapening.