Ambition Beyond Borders: How an NFL Team in London Might be Next, and Whether it Should or Can Happen

The NFL is America's most popular sports league, but it has never been content with dominating only the domestic stage. It continues to look beyond its borders in search of global expansion.

In doing so, it is wading into waters no other major American sports league has fully attempted, potentially bringing one or more franchises to Europe, should NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell get his wish.

Such a move would test not only international fan engagement, but also the limits of modern science, technology, and logistics required to sustain a transatlantic franchise.

What is the NFL's Current Standing in the International Markets?

To understand if a franchise will work overseas we need to examine what the NFL's standing both currently and in the very near future looks like.

Nine international games are scheduled in the 2026-2027 season; with games being held in cities such as Melbourne, Paris, Mexico City, and London.

The 49ers and the Rams will play at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to open the season in September. The 49ers will also head to Mexico City to play the Vikings on the 22nd of November; the Cowboys go head-to-head with the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro; the Falcons and Bengals go to Madrid; the Lions and the patriots to Munich; the Saints and Steelers to Paris.

Finally, the Commanders will play the Colts and the Eagles and Texans will play the Jaguars in games that make up a three-game London card. It is the largest, widest, and most ambitious international schedule that any American sports league has ever tried.

Goodell also said that the next step is expanding to Asia with him saying last year that 'our next step after Australia is probably moving games into Asia. We are serious about being a global sport.'

Is it Technologically and Logistically Feasible?

If your goal as the NFL is to have an exclusive London team then it has to make sense logistically and technologically.

The biggest question is air miles the NFL schedule is already a grind especially for the west coast teams who fly to the east coast at least a few times each year.

For example, the Los Angeles Rams flew 34,832 air miles in the 2025 regular season which included a trip to London and four trips to the east coast. Now imagine that but for all 6 west coast teams.

According to The Guardian, 'During last year's International Series, team executives consistently brought up the prospect of supersonic travel. The league office has been closely monitoring Boom Supersonic, the American aerospace startup attempting to build the first commercial supersonic aircraft since the Concorde retired in 2003.'

While this new airplane sounds awesome and it would solve a lot of the logistical problems; the technology is not physically here yet and we have zero evidence as to if supersonic travel could be economically feasible or if the current target of passenger flight by 2030 holds.

Coupled with the fact that per Boom the plane is only meant to carry 60-80 people which is too small considering that the player roster alone is 53.

The only way a team comes to London is if it comes with a division of other teams in cities like Madrid or Frankfurt, and the NFL seems to agree.

For a long time Goodell has said that the only way for the NFL to expand to Europe is for a whole division to come as it would make sense from an air milage side.

Then there is the players who will be hesitant to pack up and move overseas away from their family and living in a new country with new tax codes and citizenship requirements with the majority having to get a visa.

Would Fans Be Engaged in a London Exclusive Team?

The 2025 NFL International Games averaged 6.2 million viewers over the six games (one in Dublin, three in London, one in Berlin and one in Madrid). Those numbers contribute to the 'most-watched NFL Network International Games season average on record,' per the NFL.

The 6.2 million average viewers is up 32% compared to the 2024 slate of international games on NFL Network, per the NFL.

'From a financial standpoint, it was better for us to play one game here than in Jacksonville,' Jaguars president Mark Lamping said.

'By moving that one game, we actually make the Jaguars stronger. I think that's a good trade-off, and our [US-based] fans have come to understand the reason for it.'

The Jaguars are the only team to play a game in London every year since 2013 with the Jags playing now two in a year.

There is no doubt that the current fan engagement in London for the NFL is great, however if London is to get a team of it's own questions will be asked if fans will drop their current fandom of teams like the Packers, Chiefs, Jaguars, and Seahawks to support their own team.

Final Verdict

There is no question that London is deserving of an NFL team and if were in America it would of had one decades ago, however at this point there are too many unknowns and what-ifs that are preventing that from becoming a reality.

'There are markets that could certainly support a team. We've always focused on, what are the competitive consequences of that? Can we manage that? And so every year we try to learn something from the international series,' Goodell said to CNBC last year.

It seems inevitable at this point that the NFL will get an entire division in Europe and a team in London, but when that comes and if Goodell is still commissioner when that occurs is another in a long line of unknowns.