NFL European Expansion: What could it look like and which cities are likely to get a team

The international interest in American Football is at an all-time high and the NFL is seemingly doing everything in its power to promote this growth.

The 2022 season saw a record number of internationally hosted NFL games. In October Three games took place at two different venues in London, featuring six different teams, and one game in Munich – the first regular season NFL game hosted in Germany.

Given the success of all these events, as well as a general public groundswell for the sport, the conversations around the expansion to the European continent have never been more serious, and speculation is rife that it could happen as soon as 2025.

It would not be without its challenges,m of course. There are logistical factors to consider, such as infrastructure, travelling distance, and of course whether there will be sustained interest in the sport – let’s not forget, in Europe Association Football is king.

Let’s take a look at what we know so far about the NFL's plans to expand into Europe.

For over a decade now, there has been strong suggestion that the NFL is looking to base an NFL team in London, UK. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed that London was on the organisation's radar in a big way last October when he was in the British capital for a Giants-Packers game.

"There's no question that London could support, not just one franchise, I think two franchises. I really believe that," Goodell said according to NFL UK. "That's from a fan perspective, from a commercial standpoint, from a media standpoint. I think [London] has proven that."

It’s basically an open secret that the NFL is aiming to establish a London franchise, and according to gridironheroics.com it will be in place by around 2025. Since 2007, the league has held multiple regular season games in London each season as part of NFL London Games, allowing the league to test solutions to some of the challenges facing a hypothetical London franchise.

There are a few options for how that could play out. One of the most touted options is the relocation of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars are already a sort of a London home side, with the Floridian-based team playing one season game in London every year since 2013. Their owner, Shadid Khan is also based in London and had previously put in a bid to purchase Wembley Stadium, suggesting this could be a potential home for his NFL team, according to gridironheroics.com

The fact that the Jacksonville Jaguars also have a short-term lease on its stadium and will be looking adds to the speculation that the franchise may be the one to relocate to London. The team will need to move by 2030, unless an agreement and necessary upgrades are completed by TIAA Bank Field.

Another possible relocation franchise to London is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With low game attendance and less potential for growth in their own market, it’s suggested the Buccaneers could be a good relocation prospect, according to CBS News.  

It goes beyond the prospects of London though. When asked if Goodell would ever consider putting an entire NFL division in Europe, which would consist of four teams, he didn’t hold back.

"That's part of what we're doing," Goodell said. "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," CBS Sports reported.

This makes sense as to operate an NFL team independently in Europe but competing in a US-based division would be a logistical nightmare in terms of not only travelling and game scheduling, but it would also have complicated tax issues, according to ESPN.com.

Though a much bigger investment, a full four-team division would make sense as it would bypass most of these issues and if that were the case, it’s highly likely that this would be made up of brand-new teams, according to SI.com

Outside of London, Munich stands out as an obvious spot for an NFL team, given their recent success hosting NFL games. Germany itself has perhaps the most dedicated American Football fan base in Europe and are a big player in the European League of Football.

Germany also has the most amount players outside the US who make it to the NFL, including Sebastian Vollmer. Outside of Munich, Frankfurt is also touted as a possible host city for a German-based NFL team, according to the Sportsagator podcast.

Paris and Madrid have also been thrown out by pundits as possible teams to get an NFL franchise due to their involvement in the European League of Football and potential supporter base. 

Image by Stefan Pasch / Unsplash

There has also been speculation that Dusseldorf and Barcelona could be strong candidates for a team. but as of yet there has been no official suggestion from the NFL that these cities are on the radar, according to Sportsagator. 

Image by Florian Wehde / Unsplash

Either way, with the NFL now speaking so openly about European expansion, it seems more like it’s a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. We’ll be watching with a keen eye to see how this evolves over the coming years.