The NFL views its long-term vision of adding at least one international team as a matter of when, not if, according to Commissioner Roger Goodell.
During a recent interview with German outlet RTL/ntv, the commissioner says he has “no doubt” that there will one day be an NFL franchise based outside the United States.
“At some point, there will be NFL teams outside the USA,” the NFL commissioner said. “I have no doubt that this will happen one day.”
Goodell’s use of the plural “teams” may raise some eyebrows. As a matter of necessity, it makes sense that the league would need at least two international teams to give the non-US-based teams at least one relatively short road trip.
MLB did a similar thing when it moved the then-New York Giants to San Francisco to keep its former Brooklyn neighbors, the Dodgers, company out West.
The commissioner made this point back in 2022: “We’re trying to sort of see, could you have multiple locations in Europe where you could have an NFL franchise, because it would be easier as a division.
While Goodell is evidently bursting with optimism about the NFL having a foreign-based franchise, or even an international division, his previous comments still put the timeline for such a development in the relatively distant future.
When asked about international expansion in 2024, Goodell forecast overseas expansion sometime in the next decade.
“Will a franchise ever happen or a division? Maybe. But that’s beyond 10 years,” Goodell said at the time.
London has long been speculated about as a potential future NFL franchise destination. At the same time, multiple cities in Germany have also seemed like ideal host cities.