Goodell expects more games to be played in Britain soon.

[cruzg24]

LONDON -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expects the league to start playing multiple regular-season games in Britain in the next few years -- an expansion that could lead to putting a franchise in London.

Goodell said Friday that "every indicator" shows the British market can support more games and that having a franchise here is of "tremendous interest" to the league. But he stopped short of giving a timeline for expanding the NFL's overseas presence.

"The interest and the enthusiasm for our game continues to grow, and we want to feed that," Goodell said. "We want to respond to that by hopefully bringing more to the UK."

Goodell spoke at a sports conference Friday ahead of Sunday's game between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium. It's the third year in a row the NFL is staging a regular-season game in London, and the league is now looking into playing at least two games a year in Britain, he said. Aside from London, Manchester and Glasgow, Scotland, are being looked at as potential venues.

"I expect that sometime in the next couple of years, we could be playing multiple games here," Goodell said. "If we brought more than one game here, and it continues to have the same kind of enthusiasm and growth of interest, I think that is about as good of an indicator you can get that it could successfully support a franchise. And that's what we're looking at."

Staging a Super Bowl abroad, however, "is not something that is under active consideration," Goodell said.

The league is considering expanding the regular season to 17 or 18 games, with a possibility for every team to play one game abroad. Patriots owner Robert Kraft said if the league wants more of the current franchises to travel internationally for games, the regular season should be extended so that teams can keep the same number of home games. The Bucs are giving up a home game this season.

"I'm not sure our fans would appreciate us giving up a regular-season (home) game, and I know I wouldn't like to do that. But eventually I think there's a chance of that if we expand the schedule," Kraft said.

Kraft said placing an NFL team in London "would be the right thing to do some time in the next decade."

Source: nfl.com

First of all the Buccaneers shouldnt have gone to represent the NFL. Second, I dont see a big deal in having the Super Bowl in England, its not like I go to the game every year. I watch it on Tv and half the time I forget what city theyre playing in because the game is far more important then the venue. Lastly the only way I can see an NFL team in England is if the teams that go overseas would have a bye week after going there to play.

 

[footballplaya52]

having a team overseas is uesless imo. too many complications. and idk why they are pushing the nfl so much in europe. the should have kept nfl europe as well as played an NFL game there if they wanted to promote nfl over there

 

[elcheato]

A Superbowl overseas would be dumb.. Hardly any fans of the teams in the super bowl would be able to travel there unless they wanted to pay a lot more money..

 

[Giantmetfan07]

simply.... why?

 

[brakos]

Put the Pro Bowl over there. Nobody cares about it anyways.

 

[.GR]

Put the Pro Bowl over there. Nobody cares about it anyways.

Agreed agreed agreed!

 

[555666]

Put the Pro Bowl over there. Nobody cares about it anyways.

That's a good idea. The Europeans would get to see the best players in the league, rather than a good team trashing a bad team...

As for a franchise in the UK... I'm completely against it. Having a franchise over their would be too complicated, IMO.