https://footballstadiumdigest.com/2019/1...ndon-move/

Where did this come from? I was always under the impression that the Jags were the targeted team to move if one actually happened.

I'm not certain having one team on another continent is a good idea. Would there be enough support for four NFL expansion franchises in Europe? (not minor league like WLAF was)

London
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Perhaps make Toronto part of this "International division"

I think it’s a bad idea. The interest just isn’t there. Soccer season is in and they have several leagues and cups for each team occurring simultaneously. also, what happens if the UK team gets the first seed? Every team MUST go to them. The travel would be bad.

I think they are better expanding or relocating into Canada. Jaguars to Toronto first and see how it goes.

I don't think it's important whether the move will happen or even if it's being considered. Just the fact that this conversation can take place and be considered even half seriously tells you all you need to know about the state of the Chargers franchise.

How happy would the NFL be if they somehow uncovered that Spanos was a closet nazi or once wore black face to a party? Wouldn't they just jump at the chance to Schott/Sterling him out of the league?

(11-06-2019 03:16 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  I don't think it's important whether the move will happen or even if it's being considered. Just the fact that this conversation can take place and be considered even half seriously tells you all you need to know about the state of the Chargers franchise.

How happy would the NFL be if they somehow uncovered that Spanos was a closet nazi or once wore black face to a party? Wouldn't they just jump at the chance to Schott/Sterling him out of the league?

There is no doubt that the Chargers have not helped themselves. They need to do a better job of marketing. But this is just a rumor started by someone for a purpose, maybe the Rams. The Rams are not happy with the PSL revenue from the Chargers. It was supposed to be $400 million. It has been revised to $150 million. The Rams or Stan Kroenke has to make up the $250 million dollar difference.

I was at the Sunday Night Steeler game a few weeks ago at Dignity Health Sports Park and I have never seen anything like that. I have never been to a Steeler game in Pittsburgh, but that is what I would imagine it is like. I think it even shocked the NFL. The Chargers did not help themselves by playing so poorly.

The NFL should have seen this coming, but at this point there is no going back. The Chargers are here, for better or for worse. The hope is that it will get better in the new stadium.

I don't believe the Chargers would move to London but if they did, the NFL would have to do at least some minor re-alignment by swapping having the Texans and Chargers swap divisions.

If you would want to take it one step further you could re-align the AFC into 5&6-team divisions

AFC east
London Chargers, NE, NYJ, Buf, Mia, Jax

AFC west
LV Raiders, Den, KC, Hou, Indy

AFC north
Cincy, Cle, Pitt, Balt, Ten

But at this point it might make more sense to just create a new 8-team divisions

NFC West-8
LA Rams, SF, Sea, Ariz, LV Raiders, Den, KC, Hou

AFC south-8
Dal, Wash, Philly, NYG, NO, Atl, Tampa, Car

NFC north-8
Minn, GB, Chi, Det, Pitt, Cincy, Cle, Balt

AFC east-8
London chargers, NE, NYJ, Buf, Mia, Jax, Indy, Ten

Given how these billionaires think, I'll be a little surprised if they don't at least give London a shot.

I'm wondering about this though....people in the UK are very used to rooting for their neighborhoods and towns more so than a club representing all of "London." What if the NFL put more than one franchise in England?

Tottenham's new stadium is designed to feature NFL games. Wembley Stadium is capable of handling them. What if you had 2 in London and maybe 2 more in another part of the country? Let's say Manchester and Liverpool?

Consider this...there are about 56 million people in England alone. Not nearly as many in the rest of the UK when you combine them, but there are plenty of people over there as a whole. I tend to think those people would be more likely to take to the sport if their respective communities were competing against each other.

Going from zero to four teams in England all at once seems like biting off too much.

Also seems like it would be a big risk of a multi-billion dollar investment to be the first owner to move an NFL team to London full time. The billionaire US sports owners who have bought big Premier League teams haven't stepped up to say they want to own an NFL team over there -- maybe because owning Arsenal, Manchester United, or Liverpool is far more of a sure thing than being the NFL's guinea pig in London.

(11-07-2019 05:58 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Going from zero to four teams in England all at once seems like biting off too much.

Also seems like it would be a big risk of a multi-billion dollar investment to be the first owner to move an NFL team to London full time. The billionaire US sports owners who have bought big Premier League teams haven't stepped up to say they want to own an NFL team over there -- maybe because owning Arsenal, Manchester United, or Liverpool is far more of a sure thing than being the NFL's guinea pig in London.

You're correct. The major soccer clubs over there are much more effective and safe investments.

I guess when I talk about the billionaire mindset, I'm looking at it from an aggregate point of view. The club of owners will get together and decide it needs to be done. When it comes to who gets to be the guinea pig then I don't expect anyone to raise their own hand.

I suspect that the NFL will end up expanding if they decide to pursue Europe. Rather than forcing one of their own to leap across the ocean, they will throw a carrot out to see if anyone not already in the club would like to take the risk. That way they can collect expansion fees and let someone else take the risk...perhaps foreign investors that might have a better grasp on the particular market anyway.

While I wouldn't expect 4 new teams in England, I don't think 2 new teams in London would be out of the question.

Nonetheless, if they consider travel to be a concern then expanding by 4 or even 2 would reduce the frequency of travel for everyone including the franchises in England. They could actually have a few domestic trips and it would be less of a burden on everyone.

OR ST. LOUIS

(11-07-2019 04:24 PM)AllTideUp Wrote:  Given how these billionaires think, I'll be a little surprised if they don't at least give London a shot.

I'm wondering about this though....people in the UK are very used to rooting for their neighborhoods and towns more so than a club representing all of "London." What if the NFL put more than one franchise in England?

Tottenham's new stadium is designed to feature NFL games. Wembley Stadium is capable of handling them. What if you had 2 in London and maybe 2 more in another part of the country? Let's say Manchester and Liverpool?

Consider this...there are about 56 million people in England alone. Not nearly as many in the rest of the UK when you combine them, but there are plenty of people over there as a whole. I tend to think those people would be more likely to take to the sport if their respective communities were competing against each other.

Just move Jacksonville to London and place the England franchise in the AFC East.

Make Wembley Stadium the primary stadium, but consider to call it the "England Monarchs" franchise, with some "home" games at Tottenham Stadium (also near London) and Manchester...may be Liverpool (fairly close to Manchester)...and a 17th game (under the extended season proposal) elsewhere..Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, or Dublin.

You would only need 8 or 9 NFL teams to visit Europe each year. 8 NFL teams made the trip this year.

Hold two or three neutral-site 17th games in Jacksonville each season (not involving the London team) so that you don't completely abandon the Jacksonville market.

If the franchise is successful, then you consider expansion (which is an entirely new discussion given the nice 32-team divisional alignment, scheduling and playoffs, etc.). But, a second London franchise and Manchester would be excellent candidates...may be even Scotland and Ireland.

And, while 4 teams in the UK/Europe would seemingly help with scheduling and travel...you would need about 20 games with North America teams to fill out the UK team's home schedules. That's a substantial escalation from the current 6-8 teams that make the yearly trip.

...or, may be teams that travel to the British Isles would play overseas road games in back-to-back weeks...perhaps with a Sunday-Thursday game rotation? London on Sunday and Manchester on Thursday. You would only need about 10 teams each season to make the trip. But, easier said then done.