From time to time, the NFL drops a hint about the possibility of playing a Super Bowl on foreign soil. There’s another way to take a big event to another country without even taking a single snap there.
A reader recently planted the seed. Since it’s a slow Saturday, it’s worth considering whether it could ever grow.
It’s a traveling road show, one that has every NFL city in play. London has become an unofficial NFL city. And the hype around the draft could provide a way to bury the hook a little bit deeper in a place with a populace far more interested in other sports.
There would be logistical issues, obviously. Starting the draft at 8:00 p.m. ET would mean starting the party in London (if that’s the destination) at 1:00 a.m. local time. A prime-time draft party in England would require a 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. ET starting time domestically, which would result in a much smaller in-home TV audience.
Then there’s the question of whether a draft in another country would result in a similar in-person crowd. It’s not crazy, however, to think that the many NFL fans peppered throughout the U.K. and Ireland would make the pilgrimage to Piccadilly Circus.
The players expected to be drafted in round one may be less willing to make the trip, too. Getting them there could require more of a financial incentive than paying travel expenses.
Regardless, it would be a way to boost the league’s international obsession without giving up anything from a competitive standpoint. And it makes a lot more sense to take the draft overseas than it does to export the Super Bowl.
Bottom line? If the NFL ever decides it wants to do it, the NFL will find a way to make it happen.
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