Thread: London NFL Team Would Bring Britain $255 Million Annually

Originally Posted by ShaneFalco

Salt Lake?

What's Madden say?

I think it was something about the fan base.

$255 million for what would no doubt be the single worst team in the NFL season after season. **** London.

Originally Posted by Jaded

$255 million for what would no doubt be the single worst team in the NFL season after season. **** London.

A quarter billion for one team; after paying the players, that's about what current NFL teams average, but about a half dozen are well below that and depend on revenue-sharing to stay solvent. London's the obvious solution to that problem, especially with two NFL owners (that I know of) owning British FIFA teams. Running two pro teams in one city's a lot cheaper than running them on different CONTINENTS.

If anyone deserves cussing over that, it's the owners, not the Brits.

Point is the team will be utter garbage, but hey, as long as it's England's garbage I guess.

Originally Posted by Jaded

Point is the team will be utter garbage, but hey, as long as it's England's garbage I guess.

The Jags have been utter garbage for all but a few of the past 20 years, the Bucs and Seahawks, twice that: What difference does it make WHERE they're perennial garbage?

Answer: They could sell out a very large London stadium, instead of having halftime scenes like this: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-...-0-at-halftime

All those empty seats you see are people busily NOT paying to attend NFL games, drink $8 beers or wear $300 Authentic Buccaneers Player Jerseys.

I'll take the word of someone in that mix...Dave has pointed out that it would be an abysmal failure.

Originally Posted by GEM

I'll take the word of someone in that mix...Dave has pointed out that it would be an abysmal failure.

Are we talking financially, popularly, athletically or some combination of the three? Even if NO ONE Brits outside London show up, they'd only need to draw 1% of the populace to Wembley to fill it twice over again. During their Philly game, one of the commentators claimed Arizonas Brazilian soccer player learned football playing Madden: There's a ton of cash to be made off football outside the US, and the owners will keep working every angle they can think of to get their hands on it until they find one that works. Not that a lone London team's a GOOD angle, but the owners are pathologically incapable of submission.

Perhaps the best argument for London is that several NFL teams have ALREADY failed non-stop for DECADES: What have they got to lose by a move? Oh, no, the Jags stadium's as empty for London home games as it was for Jacksonville home games! Except I kinda doubt that, because there's >10 X as many residents, and London draws a lot more tourists than Jacksonville, for good reason.

Ultimately, I'M not the one either of ya'll nor anyone else must convince. The owners want it; the Brits want it: Those are all the relevant parties (yes, that sadly excludes fans of existing teams.)

Originally Posted by aberdien

Oklahoma City sure didn't have trouble supporting a basketball market, so there's one option. I just find it hard to believe that there isn't another American city that can support a team.

Oklahoma already supports a pro football team - the Sooners.

That's a good point, too: Many of the places whose deep broad college football fanbases supposedly make them ripe for an NFL team don't WANT one. I've always considered the SECAAs elected champions and "amateur" players working full time on the field for full college scholarships a joke, but a good friend of mine feels just the opposite, insisting the NFL making a profession of football removes all the heart and loyalty. Rather than being drafted, college players choose their team as much as the reverse, and most are local boys to whom local fans feel connected. That totally different feel doesn't translate to pro sports.

Originally Posted by Joel

Are we talking financially, popularly, athletically or some combination of the three? Even if NO ONE Brits outside London show up, they'd only need to draw 1% of the populace to Wembley to fill it twice over again. During their Philly game, one of the commentators claimed Arizonas Brazilian soccer player learned football playing Madden: There's a ton of cash to be made off football outside the US, and the owners will keep working every angle they can think of to get their hands on it until they find one that works. Not that a lone London team's a GOOD angle, but the owners are pathologically incapable of submission.

Perhaps the best argument for London is that several NFL teams have ALREADY failed non-stop for DECADES: What have they got to lose by a move? Oh, no, the Jags stadium's as empty for London home games as it was for Jacksonville home games! Except I kinda doubt that, because there's >10 X as many residents, and London draws a lot more tourists than Jacksonville, for good reason.

Ultimately, I'M not the one either of ya'll nor anyone else must convince. The owners want it; the Brits want it: Those are all the relevant parties (yes, that sadly excludes fans of existing teams.)

Guess we'll see if it happens. I don't see it happening, they'll stick with multiple games over there. NFL Europe already failed.

Originally Posted by Joel

It's morbidly fascinating: There are SO MANY ways this could work were NFL owners willing to invest the needed time, money and effort—but they're not, so they're going to fall flat on their faces (again.)

Because for some odd reason, they aren't interested in it.

Originally Posted by GEM

Guess we'll see if it happens. I don't see it happening, they'll stick with multiple games over there. NFL Europe already failed.

WLaugh failed because the NFL tried to make it a farm league where they had to make a RULE requiring ONE foreign player on every team (so they signed a native kicker and that was that.) It was all Americans who couldn't even make a CFL roster, and the rare Warner or Delhomme who slipped through the cracks was immediately obvious to NFL teams who just as immediately called them home for real football. No one will PAY to see foreigners play a foreign game BADLY when their teams few stars bolt for the bigs before anyone can get attached.

It was just really badly handled all the way around: That's modern NFL owners. Yet those same owners still want a European cash cow, so they'll keep trying; 2-3 London games/year ain't gonna satisfy them.

Nobody wants to play in London, FA's will use them as leverage if they're lucky, but most likely won't even return their phone calls, a London team will annually be in the hunt for the 1st overall pick and I see countless John Elway/Eli Manning/Bo Jackson holdouts. It would otherwise take decades to build a contending team with Euro talent, too many obstacles. By that time A-11 fags like Chip Kelly will have completely ruined the game and I'll be playing a lot more golf.