The Concorde concept is making a comeback, which would make it easier for the NFL to continue its effort at global conquest.
The successor to the mothballed supersonic jet is reportedly “weeks away” from engine testing. Boom Supersonic’s Overture would cut the travel time from New York to London to 3.5 hours. Currently, the trip requires roughly eight hours.
The NFL is monitoring the potential return of flight at velocities faster than the speed of sound. It would make it easier to take teams across oceans for international games.
The Overture may only be the beginning. Another project, known as Invictus, could result in a plane that flies at 3,800 miles per hour — and that could cut the time for a London-to-Sydney trip to three hours.
If that ever becomes a mainstream option, the NFL could put teams anywhere it chooses. And the Commissioner has said teams will inevitably be located in other countries.
Obviously, international franchises would present other logistical issues. Tax rates, exchange rates, governmental differences, cultural differences are just some of them.
The bigger problem could be the reluctance of players to live in other countries. Non-American teams also would complicate the process of churning rosters through in-season tryouts and signings and other moves that would have a player on an American roster one day, and on an international roster the next.
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