https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...KfpzuNO-6uz3hh8IwUTZxQ7TQ0vx632TOee2Z7XkztJrE I don't see it as such a huge deal. NFL teams are forced to play on Thursday which I would argue is worse than the extra flight across the Atlantic for a Sunday London game. Logistically it shouldn't be an issue. Now when it comes to getting players to play for a London franchise, that would be a question mark, but is it really any different than having a Toronto basketball franchise which just won a championship and are competitive every year. I think there's plenty of fan support out there for a permanent London team. They can certainly get more than 20k that the Chargers get every week in LA (the other 18k are fans of the other team)
Well players they draft and trade for wouldn't really have a choice but it would easily be the least desirable FA destination. The closest major city to London is Boston and that's still a 6+ hour flight, players from California are 11+ hours?
Just means they’ll have to pay more for quality but guys will go there for the right price. I don’t buy the report though.
London is more of a major city than nearly every other US city... Most NFL players do not live in the city they play in during the off-season. There's also just so much turnover year to year with rosters, along with limited career lengths in general, that I doubt a London team would be that hampered from a roster-building standpoint. The main question, as will always be the case, is how to account for the travel. Home games could be a significant advantage, while every road game could be a deterrent. Where do they practice regularly? If they have a home base in the US to practice for road games, along with a facility in London if they're going to have back-to-back home games, I could see that working out.
Meant that even if you lived in the closest major US city, you’d still be a 6+ flight from London. From Cali or Texas, you’re talking about 10+ hours. Given the choice, think you can assume most players wouldn’t choose to move that far from where they live, let alone out of the country. Not saying they couldn’t fill out a roster but like @Brando2101 posted, they’d have to pay more for quality guys which can be a big impediment in building a team.
Like I said... NFL players don’t typically settle down in the city they play for, other than the franchise/icon types. There’s also probably more ancillary income to be made for a player from a London franchise vs a player for Jacksonville or Nashville (or Green Bay)... they would be very well taken care of. likewise, unlike the NBA, you won’t see a lot of NFL players go to a certain place because of the city they play in. Otherwise Miami would be a much mode desirable franchise compared to Cleveland, Green Bay, Baltimore, or Houston. In the end, there’s very little superficial decision-making when it comes to football.
They could allow the London team to have a higher salary cap than the rest of the nfl teams or have a "europe adjustment" to player's salaries so they get more money for signing there. Yes this would upset the competitive balance of the league somewhat but the NFL needs to expand its market, big time. It's a worthy risk to take. This is not a matter of if, but when.
From the Athletic article.... Hard pass on that. ____ I think the Jaguars or Bills will end up in London before it's all over. Whatever city loses its team may snag the Chargers after that.
Jags make the most sense IMO. Khan owns Fulham FC in London as well. The Chargers to LA move was just extremely ill timed -- moving at the same time as the Rams who were up and coming and formerly played in LA. I think they'll wait a while and see how it goes playing in the Rams new stadium. Hell, let's send the Jags and see how it goes for a few years then send the Chargers too. New AFC: (East) Jags-Chargers-Bills-Patriots (South) Dolphins-Texans-Colts-Titans
Timing is mostly everything. If the Chargers sign a lease with the Rams, then so much for that. I think the Chargers will make a go of it in LA, fail, and eventually wind up somewhere like St. Louis or Birmingham or a newly NFL vacant city. The Bills, Jags, and Dolphins are all prime London candidates. Bills lease is up in 2023, Jags in 2030, and the Dolphins are presently not under a contract. They all play in stadiums that by 2030 will be 57, 35, and 43 years old, respectively. They all have local fanbases that are dwarfed by the London market (esp Buffalo & Jax). Plus their relocation would be the least disruptive to the current format/structure of the league. This chatter will start to heat up in the mid-20's as they put the squeeze on taxpayers.
Right. And if given the choice (which most quality free agents would), I’m sure moving/working out of the country, even if just for the season, would be a factor among many things. How so? You're right, a lot of times in the NFL it comes down to the highest bidder and best team situation. But all other things being equal, or at least comparable, don't think its far fetched to say London would be the least desirable destination for a quality NFL player with choices. They would definitely have to sweeten the pot which is my point.
Bills should have moved to Toronto already but their owner said they would stay. Can’t see them balking are the move to Toronto but then deciding that they wanted London.
The Bills have flirted with Toronto forever, but Toronto has never really flirted back. London has a much different appetite for American football. Also we can add Tampa Bay to the list of potentials. Lease up in 2028 and the Glazer family already owns a major premier league team.
Why in the would would you be against the Texans moving to the AFC west? Traveling to a road game to Las Vegas and Denver would be way better than Indy, Nashville or Jax.
...might as well, go back to San Diego. Even on a bad day, they get 45k-60k of their own fans. They are perpetual road team. Every team in their division has more fans in LA and other SO CAL cities than they do. The opposing team fans can buy tickets and travel to LA than a SO-Cal Chargers fan, if they think the Chargers are worth the hassle. They should just send this team to Canada and get a new owner.
