The league is planning to send teams to play around the world.
National Football League owners are looking for Australian dollars, more euros, maybe some more pounds and whatever currency is available to them. How do the NFL owners get that money? By offering games in various places where American football is no more than a novelty for rich local residents who want to pretend to be football fans for a six or seven hour stretch and watch about 13 minutes of action. American football is not a global sport, it is uniquely American but there is money to be made. “We feel like this game is destined to be global,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We expect to be in Asia soon. We expect to be in Australia soon. We’re going to make sure that our game is available around the globe.”
The NFL has to grow from the youth level up in many countries where there are other sports like global football or soccer or basketball where the cost to play is minimal. In global football, all you need is a piece of land and a ball, in basketball, a backboard and a ball. It’s cheap unlike American football to play. Goodell, who is paid by the 31 NFL owners and the Green Bay Packers’ Board of Directors, is acting as if the owners just want to spread American football around because it is the right thing to do. “And I think the ownership has been great on that. They’ve passed a resolution where every team is obligated to play. We’re going to have eight games a year, minimum. And if we do get to an 18 (game regular season schedule) and two (preseason games), we likely will see even more international games. And I hope someday we’ll be playing 16.” The NFL will play a game in Madrid, Spain and might return to Mexico City, Mexico in 2025 if the local stadium’s renovations are done.
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