One of the nicknames of the NFL’s Super Bowl is the “World Champions”. This can come across as a bit weird since the NFL only has teams from the United States, and outside of a few exceptions of a few international games, the entire season is also played in the United States.
The London mayor is questioning that tradition and is seeking a major change to the NFL, which seems crazy but could potentially be the greatest way to build the NFL brand worldwide.
The proposal: Play a Super Bowl in London.
The NFL Has Been in London More Than Any Other International Location
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London has hosted regular-season NFL games for the past 17 years, significantly more than any other city or country. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, believes that they have earned the honor of hosting the most-watched annual event in the world. Khan shared the following statement to the Athletic:
“The Super Bowl is really important for us. We have a number of American football games and I want it to come here because we want American sports fans in Europe to come to London to watch them, not just go to America.”
Last April, the mayor promised to do his best to bring the Super Bowl to London as part of his campaign promise. He was re-elected earlier this month for his third term.
Could the Super Bowl Be Played Internationally?
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The idea may seem crazy, but is it actually possible for the NFL to let the Super Bowl be played internationally? There are a few reasons why it isn’t as crazy as it may seem.
- The Super Bowl is already insanely expensive to attend. The common fan isn’t attending this event, and many fans who can afford to go to the Super Bowl wouldn’t have any issue paying a few thousand more dollars to get a trip to Europe (or wherever it is).
- The NFL would grow internationally in an unprecedented way. The closest comparison I can think of is Messi’s impact when he joined and played for Miami in the MLS.
The NFL would have to overcome a few hurdles. The most obvious is the timezone issue that would come up. The Super Bowl would either have to move up in TV time drastically, or the game would have to be played in London at a super late actual time to allow American fans the opportunity to watch during the normal primetime window.
The other main hurdle would be three games planned from now until 2027. The next opening is 2028, and a lot could come up between now and then that could potentially move the game back to the U.S.
Roger Goodell Isn’t Fully Bought In… Yet
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hasn’t fully shut the door down on the idea of the Super Bowl being played internationally. However, he also isn’t jumping on the opportunity to do so. A few months ago while in London, he was asked whether the NFL would ever move the Super Bowl across the pond. He replied with the following statement:
“It is not impossible, and it is something that has been discussed before. I think that is not out of the question. But at the end of the day, I think right now our formula will stay the same about playing [Super Bowls] in cities that have franchises… I think being able to play it in one of our cities — it’s at a huge economic boost to those cities.”
This year in Tampa, the NFL brought in $14.2 million in sales in just hotels during the Super Bowl weekend. The restaurant and other hospitality industries saw a huge boost overall.
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