For years now, getting the NFL logo on stadiums in other countries has been a top priority for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. This year, the season will see nine international matchups, with games scheduled in London, Rio De Janeiro, Mexico City, and more. However, Goodell is banking on the unique market targeted by the Buffalo Bills.
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“Yeah, we’re all huge fans of Toronto,” he said on The Sports Network, Canada’s biggest such network. “I mean, they’re great sports fans, it’s a great city. I’m from Western New York, so I know the relationship, and they do have a great relationship with the Bills. And I think the Bills are focusing more and more on the business opportunities and how to expand the Bills into Ontario and Toronto.”
“No, they’re great fans. They’re great fans, and we’ve had a great relationship with the CFL and a great relationship with the fans. So yeah, I can see that we’ll continue to play preseason games up there.”
Buffalo sits right next to the border between the USA and Canada; Toronto is only a two-hour drive away. For many years, fans across the border have been making the trip to Buffalo to attend Bills games. To honor this special fanbase, the Bills also played the Canadian national anthem in their brand-new $2 billion Highmark Stadium. But the relationship between the NFL and the land of the maple tree goes back much further.
Canada has served as a venue for NFL preseason games. From 1950 to 1961, NFL teams faced off against CFL teams. The Buffalo Bills have played home games at Rogers Center six times between 2008 and 2013, including preseason games. The series was extended from 2013 to 2017, but the appeal fizzled out. The series was put on hold in 2014.
However, Canada still has a solid football following, creating a unique market for the Bills. Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli said earlier this year that around 10%-15% of the season ticket base is made up of Canadian fans. A CBC story from 2021 says an estimated 3,000 to 8,000 Canadians are season-ticket holders.
For a small city like Buffalo, that exposure matters.
“Buffalo’s a small market,” Guelli told The Athletic, “but when you combine it with the Greater Toronto Area, it’s a top-five NFL market. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 percent of our PSL holders are Canadian. Our waiting list is closer to 20 percent.
“We’ve built a multibillion-dollar stadium and firmed up this team in our market for the next 30-plus years; Canada was an important part of that and always will be.”
Canada might end up on the calendar soon enough. Goodell is pushing for a schedule that will eventually allow every team to play one international game. The league is already at an all-time high with nine matchups this year, and will hit 10 next year. And Canada, being close to the border, can perhaps hope to become a constant on the NFL calendar.
However, Canada will have to compete with the land on the other side of the pond, who have already become a stalwart on the NFL’s international calendar.
Roger Goodell envisions a future NFL franchise in Europe
While Canada is a readily available market, Goodell finds a lot to like in Europe.
“You know, that’s tough to say,” Goodell said on Amazon Prime Video’s pregame show. “I think if we continue to grow and continue to get the kind of reaction, I do think a franchise will be international at some point in time. I think Europe is the most likely, for a lot of reasons. One, the length of time we’ve been playing there. But also the scheduling is going to be a lot easier. Australia might create a few complications for us. But I also believe we could have more than one team. … The support is there.”
Goodell has been vocal about a London-based team before, and he has “no doubt” that there will be a team outside of the US.
The NFL has already built a strong presence in Europe, having run NFL Europe from 1991 to 2007 (the name officially stuck on from 1998). The rest of the world might not have wanted to get on the bandwagon there, but there is some serious interest in NFL.
Per Fortune, ticket interest for the NFL’s Melbourne match has surpassed the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s 100,000-seat capacity, with more than 151,000 fans registering interest. Last year, more than 600,000 people were in the virtual queue for the Pittsburgh Steelers game in Dublin.
Players, coaches, and fans have had a lot to say about the NFL increasing its international footprint. There’s Joe Burrow, who had desperately wanted to play an international game, and there’s 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who isn’t too keen on international games. Some fans crib about the NFL wasting its resources. But Goodell has made one thing clear: the NFL will be as international as it is American.
But taking that next step and putting a permanent team overseas would bring a different set of problems. Goodell has pointed to the travel demands of having a Europe-based franchise, while tax differences could also make recruiting free agents more difficult. Those issues still have to be worked out before an international franchise becomes a realistic part of the NFL.