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The NFL is always looking to expand the product. This is true both for the number of games played each season and the number of markets that NFL games are broadcast in. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made a surprising admission about what could be next for the NFL's international expansion.
Goodell spoke about the NFL's aggressive plans for international growth during an interview with Ken Macguire. These plans could include an international city hosting a Super Bowl.
“We’ve always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city — that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises,” Goodell said in response to a question about moving the neutral-site game internationally. “But things change. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if that happens one day.”
If the NFL decided to host a Super Bowl in a non-NFL city, that would be a huge change. Selecting an international city for a Super Bowl would be even more of a shift from what the NFL has done in the past.
Goodell also added the has has “no doubt” that Ireland will host a game in the near future. He also named Rio de Janeiro as another likely new host for an international game.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are known for playing multiple international games in London each season. Goodell noted that the team is considering increasing the number of those games while they renovate their stadium back at home.
Roger Goodell also teases 18-game NFL season, increased international slate in future
Goodell also gave some interesting quotes about how an expanded regular season schedule would impact international games.
“If we do expand our season — our regular season — to an 18-and-two structure, I see us going to 16 of those games being in international markets,” Goodell said.
Goodell mentions an “18-and-two structure”, which suggests that the league is open to adding a second bye week to the regular season schedule.
“A lot of that depends on — can we continue to make the game safer, can we continue to modify the way we conduct the offseason as well as the training camp and as well as the season, so that these guys feel comfortable being able to play that period of time,” Goodell said.
The NFLPA and many NFL players have made it clear that a second bye week will be a sticking point for them if the league wants to expand the regular season. The NFLPA has also previously claimed that they are open to expanding the regular season prior to the expiration of the current CBA.
It seems that the NFL has no plans of slowing down its expansion anytime soon.
