The more the NFL becomes an international game, the more a team in London is looking like an inevitable move.
NFL fans in London can continue their excitement of a future NFL team with support from across the pond coming from influential owners. Arthur Blank, who owns the Atlanta Falcons, says he can see not only one NFL team but a couple making its way across the water.
“The games in London, I think are a tribute to the NFL, a tribute to the fans there, the quality of the game—and I think that its proved conclusive that fans will come out when they see the real players playing games that are really meaningful, as opposed to NFL Europe,” Blank said. “So I think—and all three of the games for 2014 sold out immediately, 240,000 tickets—the league, as you know, has been in discussion about a fourth game, in discussion about games beyond that. There’s been discussion about potentially having a franchise in London. I’m very optimistic.”
“I think it will start with an increased number of games. That will be translated into a very successful series of games, and eventually, I think a franchise. And maybe more than one. London’s a big city,” Blank said.
While American fans are a bit apprehensive to this move, owners and NFL officials see this as an opportunity to not only infiltrate an European Market but also add value to an already billion dollars environment. I guess we will see how the NFL plots its moves throughout the coming years, even more interesting to see how the Europeans warm up to NFL (American) style football being a growing sport.