Two London games could be coming for 2012

Posted by Mike Florio on September 28, 2011, 10:10 AM EDT
Getty Images

The headline grabber in Tuesday’s initial press conference for the New York/New Jersey Super Bowl came from the presence of a snowflake in the host committee’s official logo.  But some real news also came from the event, as reported by Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal.

Per Kaplan, Goodell said after the event that he expects the NFL to stage two overseas regular-season games in 2012.

Kaplan expects both of those games to be played in London.

The challenge will be to find two teams willing to give up home games.  Look for the teams having the biggest trouble selling tickets to be the prime candidates to play there.

Next month, the Bucs will host the Bears at Wembley Stadium.  It will be Tampa’s second game there in three years.

Permalink 63 Comments Feed for comments Back to top

63 responses to “Two London games could be coming for 2012”

  1. Teams are already having trouble filling seats, now you are moving games out of the country? Come on NFL, stop trying to ruin a good thing

  2. Only Goodell would look to force this issue when they’re still having trouble selling out this year’s game.

    They’ve already extending ‘family zones’ where children get in cheaper and Ticketmaster has been phoning previous attendees offering discounts in a desperation to fill the stadium.

  3. So instead of moving the Bucs, Bengals, Jags or other teams that can’t sellout to another American city keeping and creating more American jobs, we outsource more games and jobs? This is terrible.

  4. I’m sure my bucs will volunteer for both games!! Here is a scheduling fact. When the bucs finish there home mondAy night sold-out game at Raymond James stadium, there will be 13 weeks left in the regular season and the bucs will play 4 At ray jay!! That’s right, 13 weeks left and ONLY 4 in Tampa!!!!!!

  6. It’s funny how Tampa can’t even sell tickets at home, yet their game next month will be one of the biggest events in England this year.

  7. Can you imagine being the size of most NFL players and having to sit in an airplane seat for as many hours as it takes to cross the freaking Atlantic Ocean?

    I mean, honestly, that would be worse than being married to Nancy Grace!

  8. Roger, please stop trying to force the issue. One game a year is barely selling out, so let’s add another?
    Here’s an idea, there’s NFL straved regions all over OUR OWN COUNTRY that would be happy to host a game. If you really want to “grow” the sport, why not give that a try. It’s quite obvious that the Brits like their footballs to be round.

  10. Can someone please tackle Goodell??!!

    This London initiative is being FORCED by a greedy, arrogant commissioner who wants to expand revenue and leave his mark instead of just keeping the ship between the shores.

    NFL is America.

  13. London Buc’s doesn’t have a bad ring to it. Doesn’t the owner already own an English soccer club? maybe they are doubling down in the market there…

  14. I saw some preseason highlights on Sky Sports in the UK and I was shocked at how much interest those guys seemed to have regarding this years game at Wimbley. I’m not a fan of Rog but this seems to be a good thing for the sport.

  16. This is the 1st thing to be badly effected by the lockout IMO. In previous years the tickets for the Wembley game have been released for sale in January. Giving overseas fans (lots come over from Germany & Holland) chance to book the tickets, flights & hotels well in advance getting decent deals.

    Tickets this year went on sale only 2 weeks ago, I booked my hotel & train well in advance of this to cut the price but many others wouldnt have just in case the game was cancelled altogether.

    Now people are expected to spend upwards of £200 per person (depending on where you’re travelling from & thats before you get to the game) to see a game between two teams the majority of them dont support. I’m a Saints fan & have attended every London game so far but its very understandable why ticket sales are down this year

    Really they shouldve bit the bullet & cancelled this years event. It all seems abit rushed

  17. I’m a UK fans I don’t like this idea.

    It’s bad enough that the Niners and Bucs had to give up HOME games to come here but to have two teams per year giving up home games is a joke.

    The NFL isn’t like the NBA or NHL where a team gets 41 odd home games in the year, there’s plenty of regular season games to give up. NFL teams only get EIGHT home games in the reg season.

    And anyway, isn’t it about time the “International” Series moved to another country? 5 straight years in London? C’mon…Goodell and his cronies can’t be that short-sighted.

    Let Germany or Japan get a game for Pete’s sake.

  19. All that matters is the bottom line. Games in London sell out… period. If you want American Football in europe bring back NFL Europa.. was that so hard?

  20. twitter:Chapman_Jamie says: Sep 28, 2011 10:15 AM

    So instead of moving the Bucs, Bengals, Jags or other teams that can’t sellout to another American city keeping and creating more American jobs, we outsource more games and jobs? This is terrible.

    ==============================

    In the interest of fairness, I have to correct you on one thing. The Jaguars have not had a blackout since 2009.

    And I know, the common retort is “what about the tarps.” The tarps were put there to reduce the stadium size to 67,000, which is in keeping with most NFL stadiums.

  21. Last I looked, this is the NFL not the WFL!

    Disgusting.

    Why not play a game in LA? (That city & state is out of this world anyway.) Or some other city in the US that doesn’t have a pro football team.

    Whose bright idea was this? Certainly not the fans of the team that loses a home game. Think Tampa has now lost 2 in 3 years. Tampa fans have to be livid-at least those who actually go to a game.
    But its one less blackout, IF overseas games are not blacked out.

  22. You know Mr Godell, I know you are punishing the fans of teams not showing up to games in specific markets ( like Tampa 2 of the last 3 years), even though you have no compation for the American worker caught in the web of “hope and change”, but you are now going to punish the stadium workers, parking attendants, police, etc twice a year!! Mr Godell, what is your view on American companies taking their product overseas and taking jobs from the American worker?? Please answer that while looking in a mirror while answering this question!! You really think the fans of “kickball” over there really want the NFL shoved down their throat 2x a year? Ask if ManU would like to play one of their home “kickball” games to America?? Douchbag!

  23. grilledjesus says:
    Sep 28, 2011 10:23 AM
    Roger, please stop trying to force the issue. One game a year is barely selling out, so let’s add another?

    ____

    Actually, the last 4 IS games sold out. They all had 83,000 in the stadium.

    I think they’re still trying to shift tickets for the Bucs-Bears game though. I know that the last couple of NFL games on TV here have had advertisments about the tickets.

    They’re expensive as hell though and they did only go on sale 6 weeks before the actual game (cos of the Lockout). Which is very short notice for a lot of people.

  24. 1 game a year is not barely selling out and the growth in uk american football since the wembley games has been phenomenal however not sure 2 games is necessary in london

  25. The Brits are paying in Pounds Sterling = double revenue. He doesn’t care what you think…unless you stop watching football because of it.

  26. “So instead of moving the Bucs, Bengals, Jags or other teams that can’t sellout to another American city keeping and creating more American jobs, we outsource more games and jobs? This is terrible.”

    Indeed, outsourcing those 18 hotdog vendor jobs is really gonna hurt us.

  27. Europe doesn’t want American Football. There is no breeding ground or development of talent in place in Europe so they will never embrace something that entirely made up of people from another country.

    How can we expect people in London to care about or sustain an American sport, team, players, coaches, etc.

    This type of arrogance displayed by Goodell is why people in other countries get mad at the USA.

  28. They should have games in states without a team. States like Nebraska, oklahoma, Idaho and Alabama where football is very popular but they don’t have a pro team. I think this would build the fan base within our own country and give people the chance to watch a live game that normally couldn’t.

  29. all posts containing the word f.l.o.r.i.o (without the “.”s are blocked automatically)

    whats wrong little man, cant handle a little dissension?

  30. Here’s the deal. Not many people care for Tampa on a national level. They are hardly the big name team of the NFL. If you keep sending the same team over and over, the people aren’t stupid, they will realise that hey, maybe we keep getting the same team cos noone really cares about the Bucs?

    I know that they have some talent now, but people here that are NFL fans want the teams that have been winners the last ten years, because naturally that’s who they’ve seen on TV and who they ended up being fans of. Other than the 2002 win, the Bucs have been largely bad.

    If Goodell wants to grow the game abroad, and I totally understand why so many Americans are against this and if I was american I would be too, but you have to send the big names. I went to the first Tampa game and there were much, much more Patriot fans than Bucs.

    But if Goodell keeps sending Tampa, your essentially sending your leagues leftovers, and thats just not going to sell. If the Premier League was too send teams to the US, if you wanted to go would you want to see Manchester United or Bolton? You have to send your best Rodger, or it’s a waste of time for everyone.

  31. First off, stop trying to make an american market into a global one. Europe could careless about the NFL. They sell out the seats sure, but it is just a stop gap to the soccer season.

    Next, stop taking our jobs out of the country. The NFL is born and raised on American dollars. Keep that the same.

    I would be pissed to see my team out in London, home game or no home game. There is no need for that.

    If you want an European market start up the EFL. And make your money that way you asshat.

  35. Speaking as an English fan,
    We don’t want to take home games away from any team, but we do want to see a high standard of football played live here. I won’t be at Wembley, because I’m a student and the ticket prices are extortionate, but was there two years ago and would love the chance to watch a team regularly here. Ideally, long-term the league will expand, and we’ll get a team of our own here in London, but right now clearly the league are trying to work out a way of making that expansion gradual rather than one huge blind leap, and inevitably, that’s going to leave some people dissatisfied. The sport has a huge potential for international growth (a potential which will inevitably increase the pool of potential players and thus raise the standard of the sport overall), but this cannot be harnessed without some degree of sacrifice.
    On the other hand, the N in NFL does stand for national, so if you want to keep this an entirely american affair then by all means do, just don’t go calling the winners of the superbowl world champions, it’s not appropriate.

    In amused anticipation of a backlash, Jon

  36. How about we just ship this 15 mil. per year eating Goodell over to the UK and let him do his own thing over there and start his own business and leave us in the US the hell alone with football. What a moron.

  37. As an NFL fan in the UK, I couldn’t agree less with everyone who is saying that NFL should remian in the US.

    Having met people from France, Germany, Spain, Italy and all over Europe, it’s worth pointing out that NFL has a HUGE fanbase outside of the US.

    I will however concede that the games have been rather stale. I was at the Chargers vs. Saints game and it was absolutely fantastic – and in my mind the best of the games that have been played at Wembley. People are being put off because they are not seeing lots of action, the Dolphins/Giants game was a snorefest and in bad conditions, same goes for the majority of the Broncos/49ers last year. The Patriots blowout win over the Bucs wasn’t that good either.

    I would love to see the International game move around European venues as it would help to keep the game fresh for wherever it is played. But then, the rest of Europe is another hour ahead.

    I don’t think a UK based team would be at all viable but the NFL needs to recognise that there is more to Europe than just the UK and by moving the game around it could be a win-win secnario for both the NFL and it’s fans.

  39. “other than 2002, the bucs have benn relatively bad”
    WOW!! You sure know alot about the bucs, claiming beside 2002, they have been bad.
    1997- playoffs
    1999- playoffs(NFC championship)
    2000- playoffs
    2001- playoffs
    2002 – champions
    2005- division champs
    2007- division champs
    2009- 9-3 and the start of rebuilding

    119 straight eelpouts at Raymond James

    Future hall of famers in Brooks, sapp, lynch, barber
    Continous probowlers like b.Johnson, k. Johnson, alstott, Dunn, rice, Abraham,

    I bet the lions, dolphins, bills, raiders, Seahawks, browns, bengals, 49rs, cardinals, falcons all wish they could have been this bad the last 14 years.

    ONLY reason bucs are not as relevant nationally is because they don’t talk and yap. They go out and get to work!! Average age of team is 23!! I’m sure alot if other teams are going to wish they could be as bad as the bucs will be over the next 5-10 years

  40. Like the 18 game season, Goodell is hell-bent on giving the fans something they clearly don’t want.

    No way should a regular season game be played outside of a team’s market. Even if I only watch on the tube, I don’t want to see the Patriot’s playing a November game in London, EVER, and I’m sure fans of every other team feel the same about their teams.

    Stupid idea, Roger, we don’t like it, and we don’t want it. This is just a financial move by the NFL to export their product globally, and the fans have no interest in NFL franchises overseas.

    None.

    I normally hate these kinds of posts, but thumbs down if you’re against NFL games or franchises overseas, thumbs up if you’re in favor of it.

  41. Jon Cheyne says:
    Sep 28, 2011 11:06 AM
    Ideally, long-term the league will expand, and we’ll get a team of our own here in London,
    ———————————————–

    Sorry John, but that’s never going to happen. The logistics alone would be a nightmare. No owner in his right mind would want to have to plan/pay for that kind of travel on a week to week basis.

  43. Well said richm2256,

    Goodell just doesn’t get it. When fans said they want less pre-season games, that didn’t mean more regular season games. IT MEANT LESS PRESEASON GAMES. Fans don’t want to pay normal prices for meaningless games.

    Goodell can’t stop making bad decision after bad decision. Flirting with Superbowl in Europe??

    And if if you hate Pryor, how do you suspend him for violating the draft rules when YOU declared him eligible? (that was Goodell’s reason).

    Once again, you may not like Big Ben, but how do you suspend someone who was not charged with anything. The only fact was he had sex in a club. So now suspensions can happen if you really think a player did something?

    Bad precedent, bad decisions.

  44. Go to hell, Goodell. Those people working the games in American stadiums NEED their jobs. They’re not like you fatcats in the NFL that have $50 fish plates for lunch everyday. These are real people who need their money for these games, and taking away money from their families and the cities they live in is downright criminal. Mr Goodell, you are so out of touch, it is painful. Worst commissioner ever, by a longshot.

  46. T%his is about chasing the dollar. It is not about the game or its fans. It is PURELY about pleasing potential business partners to increase revenue.

    IT IS NOT ABOUT GROWING THE GAME.

    If Goodell and those responsible were interested in growing the game they would be having these games in the country that supported 5 teams in the NFLE

    Goodell is an idiot and a fool. His arbitrary conduct policy is a joke. The London games beyond stupid.

  47. If the NFL truly wants to believe London or Mexico is a “home” game for anyone, the VERY LEAST they could do is not paint the end zones with both team’s logos…

  48. Corporate America has already raped the American worker as well the consuming public to the point we have no more to give so now Goodell needs to expand his market to continue feeding the greed.

  51. bbforcanton. You know nothing about the bucs so don’t sit there and say we have been bad since 2000. Since then there are 14 teams with a worst record than us we are the only team to win the NFC
    South more than twice. And we were on apology from the NFL ( kellen Winslow td catch against lions) from being in the playoffs last year instead of the mighty packers being there. So before you post atleast know a little bit of information except what you get from espn.

  52. You know where the second neutral site game should be? Here in America. Let’s try these cities:

    San Antonio, TX
    Los Angeles, CA
    Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    Duluth, Minnesota
    Louisville, KY
    Lincoln or Omaha, NE
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Orlando, FL

    Let’s keep the game in America and test out the markets who are madly in love with football but just don’t have a true local team.

  53. did I just see someone say they should play the game in L.A.? Because they don’t have an NFL team.

    You must be kidding. California has 3 NFL teams, 5 MLB teams, 4 NBA teams, and 3 NHL teams.

    If you want to attend a game, take a road trip, it can’t be THAT far.

  55. damnyoulinelliot says:

    You know where the second neutral site game should be? Here in America. Let’s try these cities:

    San Antonio, TX
    Los Angeles, CA
    Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    Duluth, Minnesota
    Louisville, KY
    Lincoln or Omaha, NE
    Salt Lake City, UT
    Orlando, FL

    Let’s keep the game in America and test out the markets who are madly in love with football but just don’t have a true local team.
    ————————————————-
    Cool premise!!! Take the NFL on the road and play in American cities where fans seldom get to see NFL games!!!

    But Tuscaloosa? That town has all the football it wants or needs.

    ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!! 😀

  57. Really, seriously, u nutter Goodell…..play the games in Vegas u jokester or like others have said anywhere where there is not already a team…that is a win/win situation for AMERICA and the NFL…..go and get your head out of your anus Roger before u smother yourself.

    Someone please have the guts to do whatever it takes to get rid of this clown.

  59. That’s why the NFL wanted 18 games people, so they could play an additional 32 games at neutral venues, but retain the same level of games at current venues. These ‘extra’ neutral-venue games were to replace pre-season games, so yes; I guess the NFL thinks Bears v Buccs @ Wembley will sell more in London, than Bears v Buccs pre-season.

    IMO, some of you Americans are so in-bred, you can’t see further than your own post-boxes. Why is it that you want to export your culture all over the world, but not let us watch NFL football ? You’re happy for us to buy your burgers, cars, airplanes, lap-tops and god knows what else, but you don’t want us to be interested in ‘your’ sport.

    Wake up and smell the coffee America. More NFL games ARE going to be played overseas whether you like it or not; the debate should be about the best way to do it, not whether or not it should happen.

  60. @chocopoppy …

    Oh for heaven’s sake. Yeah, it’s a business. The NFL had the World League of American Football with franchises throughout Europe. It failed at a cost of millions to league owners. And that was a self-contained league. How do you suppose an NFL franchise would survive being isolated in the UK or Europe?

    Since there’s no viable college farm system there, the players will have to come from the United States. About 300 players get invited to the Combine each year and still we can’t find 32 “elite” quarterbacks to lead the current NFL franchises. Plus you have to find enough players willing to uproot their families and relocate to Europe. Then you have the business of playing transAtlantic games on a weekly basis. Sunday, Monday, and Thursday night games airing in primetime here will air in the middle of the night there. And what about the playoffs? If a European team wins home-field advantage, do you plan to travel there to support your playoff team.

    Yeah, pal, c’mon … use your head 🙄

  61. Football in Europe – BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  62. Back in the ’70’s I attended a game in Memphis between the Saints & Steelers …advertised as an “exhibition” game. It wasn’t called “Pre-season”.
    It was exciting to have the chance to see Archie Manning & other Real NFL players play Live w/o the time & expense of a long roadtrip.
    I’ll never forget it (the game was lousy) & bought Jags tickets as soon as J’ville was awarded a team. I didn’t expect winning alot of games; but, would still get to see great visiting players & teams.
    The Memphis game didn’t present TV timezone problems Etc.
    I was happy for the chance then & didn’t resent being “forced” to pay full-price for pre-season scrimmages.
    The Memphis experience seems a win/win … IMO.

  63. marty2019 says:
    Sep 28, 2011 10:44 AM
    twitter:Chapman_Jamie says: Sep 28, 2011 10:15 AM

    So instead of moving the Bucs, Bengals, Jags or other teams that can’t sellout to another American city keeping and creating more American jobs, we outsource more games and jobs? This is terrible.

    ==============================

    In the interest of fairness, I have to correct you on one thing. The Jaguars have not had a blackout since 2009.

    And I know, the common retort is “what about the tarps.” The tarps were put there to reduce the stadium size to 67,000, which is in keeping with most NFL stadiums.

    ==============================

    Also in all fairness the bucs had not had a blackout since moving into Ray Jay Stadium until last season, even during a 3-13 Season. It was after that year when the fans realized the Glazers decided to stop spending money and signing free agents to try and improve the team that people stopped showing up.

    Not too mention this is the second year out of the 3 years the NFL has been playing games in London that the Bucs have had to give up one of their 8 home games. This seems absurd to me when there are 32 teams in the NFL and 1 team has lost 2 home games in 3 seasons. This needs to end.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.