The NFL last expanded in 2002. It’s currently the longest stretch in league history without the addition of a new team.
The recent comments from the Commissioner regarding the inevitability of an international team essentially open the door to the growth of the league beyond 32 franchises.
Goodell said “there will be teams outside the USA.” Plural. So either two teams will move to another country, or the NFL will add two teams.
Who would relocate? The Jaguars have a new long-term lease, to go along with their ongoing renovation project. There’s no other candidate to uproot from domestic soil and set up shop on foreign soil.
And, again, it would be teams.
London currently has two NFL-ready stadiums. Given the league’s 20-year relationship with England, the most sensible path to an international presence would be expansion to London. And since an odd number of teams (which the NFL had from 1999 through 2001 after the return of the Browns) would require at least one team to have a bye every week of the season, there would likely be two expansion teams — perhaps with both of them based in London.
What would that do to the current symmetry of the conferences and divisions? Prior to 2002, the NFL had divisions ranging from four to five teams and, from 1999 to 2001, five to six.
The easiest temporary fix would be to drop one London team in the AFC East and the other in the NFC East. The eventual addition of two more teams in Europe, if/when that happens, could result in a fifth team in the NFC North and a fifth team in the AFC North.
The ideal long-term play would be 40 teams, with five divisions in each conference — and with each conference having an international division. One conference would have a European division, with two teams in London and two teams in Germany, Spain, or France. The other conference would have a division with teams in, possibly, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, and Australia.
Yes, travel would be an issue. As the Wall Street Journal reported in November 2025, the NFL is monitoring advances in the potential return of supersonic travel.
There would be many other logistical issues. The league will cross each of those bridges at the appropriate time.
For now, the Commissioner regards the crossing of an ocean as inevitable. And the only question is when it happens, not if.
