The NFL wants to go global, and the target date is as soon as possible.
During last week’s NFL Spring Meeting, league commissioner Roger Goodell mentioned the possibility of the NFLÂ playing international games outside of the United Kingdom, but he didn’t offer a timetable.
Mark Waller, the vice president of NFL International, filled in the blanks recently, admitting the league is hoping to host non-U.K. games by 2017, with Mexico and Germany being the most likely candidates.
The league hasn’t been shy about promoting its game on the international stage, as it will host three games in London in 2015.
The NFL’s plan for globalization appears to have the support of its owners, as well. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who’s on the league’s international committee, told his team’s website recently he’d be “disappointed” if NFL games weren’t being played in Mexico and Germany by 2020.
The Steelers played a preseason game in Mexico City in 2000 against the Indianapolis Colts. In 2005, the last time an NFL game was played in Mexico, the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals set an all-time league attendance record by drawing 103,467 fans. The league has hosted five preseason games in Germany but hasn’t played a game there since 1994.
Goodell and the league also are considering hosting the 2017 Pro Bowl in Brazil, so it’s clear a global movement is happening. It’s just a matter of where, and how soon.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
