New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft isn’t just thinking about his team and whether it’ll retain restricted free-agent cornerback Malcolm Butler. He’s thinking globally, and that includes expanding to Europe with one or more teams.
“First time we went (to London), I said that in the next decade, I think there should be a team here,” Kraft told The MMQB’s Albert Breer earlier this week at the NFL Annual Meeting. “I still think we should have a team there, and then probably on the continent.
“I don’t know how it’ll work, we’ll have to work the logistics. … How would it work? Who would it be? … But I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next five to seven years we have a team there. Maybe sooner.”
NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman relayed that Kraft and Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt believe the league’s International Series is “the most important thing that people are working on that involves the playing of games,” according to Breer.
It certainly won’t be the Patriots moving to London, and the Rams, Chargers and Raiders already have relocated or are in the process of doing so. The Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills typically are on the short list of teams who could relocate in the future since they have older stadiums. The Jaguars have played an annual game in London since 2013 and will continue to do so through 2020.
Thumbnail photo via Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY Sports Images
