Goodell wants a team in LA and in London

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By Bill Williamson | ESPN.com

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LONDON -- Roger Goodell wants the NFL to return to Los Angeles and he wants to bring the league to Europe on a permanent basis.

In no particular order.

Speaking at a forum for European NFL fans Saturday on the eve of the 49ers-Jaguars game at Wembley Stadium, Goodell was asked by a fan about going back to L.A. and where it ranks on the league's wish list compared to putting a team in London.

 

 

"It doesn't matter," Goodell said.

"I'd love to be back in Los Angeles," Goodell said. "But it has to be done the right way, we have to do it successfully. ...

"I want both (London and L.A.), but it doesn't matter which one is first."

The NFL has not had an NFL franchise in Los Angeles since 1995 when both the Rams and the Raiders relocated. If the NFL puts a team in London, it would be the only American professional sports league to have a team based in Europe.

There has been talk that there could perhaps be a Super Bowl held in London. However, Goodell said Saturday that will likely only happen if there is a franchise in London because the Super Bowl is played in cities where the NFL has teams based.

Goodell is a huge proponent of playing in London. There will be two regular-season games played in London this season and three in 2014. The games are wildly popular and have been sellouts.

"You are proving you are worthy of a franchise," Goodell told the European fans.

Meanwhile, Goodell said there could be a female official working in the league by next season. The league had a female official work in the preseason.

 

[bitonti]

everytime this subject comes up people complain about moving a team out of Merica like it's the worst thing ever. meanwhile stadiums in oakland and florida putting tarps over their upper decks to avoid blackout. This is the free market if the league can get 85k sell out every game then they should move to London. I used to think it was the Jags but it might actually be the Bucs (owned by Glazier who owns Man United). move buffalo to toronto and move oakland to LA. 

[The Crusher]

everytime this subject comes up people complain about moving a team out of Merica like it's the worst thing ever. meanwhile stadiums in oakland and florida putting tarps over their upper decks to avoid blackout. This is the free market if the league can get 85k sell out every game then they should move to London. I used to think it was the Jags but it might actually be the Bucs (owned by Glazier who owns Man United). move buffalo to toronto and move oakland to LA. 

 

Should have move the Jets to NY when they had the chance.

[bitonti]

Should have move the Jets to NY when they had the chance.

 

that too but even with WSS theyd still probably have the HQ practice fields in Jersey. the value of the land is too much to use it for 100 yard grass fields. 

 

i think it'd be kinda cool to have a Jets road trip to London or wherever. why not? it's better than going to Buffalo or Jacksonville. 

[The Crusher]

that too but even with WSS theyd still probably have the HQ practice fields in Jersey. the value of the land is too much to use it for 100 yard grass fields. 

 

i think it'd be kinda cool to have a Jets road trip to London or wherever. why not? it's better than going to Buffalo or Jacksonville. 

 

 

I would watch it on TV. 

[Il Mostro]

Should have move the Jets to NY when they had the chance.

 

We can thank Dolan and his cronies for killing that plan.

[T0mShane]

that too but even with WSS theyd still probably have the HQ practice fields in Jersey. the value of the land is too much to use it for 100 yard grass fields.

i think it'd be kinda cool to have a Jets road trip to London or wherever. why not? it's better than going to Buffalo or Jacksonville.

Goodell is eroding the quality of play at every turn. Those Thursday Night games look like scrimmages and the London games are sub-WLAF quality. The athletes aren't built to travel like this, or play on short schedules like this. Throw in his weird, fugazi, mission to avoid concussion litigation and you're getting a lesser product. This a$$hole wants to throw 18 games on everybody's schedule. He's the Pol Pot of commissioners.

[Il Mostro]

Whatever happened to bringing Futbol Americano to Mexico City?  England is new new Mexico in the league's eyes, I guess.

[BroadwayJoe12]

Goodell is eroding the quality of play at every turn. Those Thursday Night games look like scrimmages and the London games are sub-WLAF quality. The athletes aren't built to travel like this, or play on short schedules like this. Throw in his weird, fugazi, mission to avoid concussion litigation and you're getting a lesser product. This a$$hole wants to throw 18 games on everybody's schedule. He's the Pol Pot of commissioners.

 

Besides the fact that these Thursday and overseas games are basically preseason games as far as execution is concerned, the logistics of having a team in London just seems ridiculous.  It's bad enough having the east coast teams play the 1pm game on the west coast, now lets have a home team in London who's five hours ahead of the east coast and eight hours ahead of the west coast start making those trips.  It's not a huge deal when everyone is traveling to the same stadium, but when one team is acclimated to London time and has to play a 1pm or 4 pm game, it's beyond a disadvantage. That type of schedule could really f*ck with you after a while.

[neckdemon]

Goodell is eroding the quality of play at every turn. Those Thursday Night games look like scrimmages and the London games are sub-WLAF quality. The athletes aren't built to travel like this, or play on short schedules like this. Throw in his weird, fugazi, mission to avoid concussion litigation and you're getting a lesser product. This a$$hole wants to throw 18 games on everybody's schedule. He's the Pol Pot of commissioners.

 

 

completely disagree.

[ZachEY]

Does anyone think that a team in London could attract free agents?  While people may say that FAs will follow the money, how much of a difference will there need to be in order for someone to move overseas?  Then, what about the value of the pound vs. the dollar?  They'd probably need a whole different salary cap structure in order to make the financially competitive.  A million dollars here gets you a lot further than it does in London.  If the lack of income tax in FL is a draw for FAs, then the conversion of money must be a consideration.

 

And, how does this affect the draft and rookies.  We've already seen top prospects refuse to go to teams just because they don't like the management.  We don't think that this happens in droves when an 18 year old is told they have to move to London full time?

[HessStation]

completely disagree.

I actually, unfortunately agree with that jackass

Goodell blows.

[HessStation]

Does anyone think that a team in London could attract free agents? While people may say that FAs will follow the money, how much of a difference will there need to be in order for someone to move overseas? Then, what about the value of the pound vs. the dollar? They'd probably need a whole different salary cap structure in order to make the financially competitive. A million dollars here gets you a lot further than it does in London. If the lack of income tax in FL is a draw for FAs, then the conversion of money must be a consideration.

And, how does this affect the draft and rookies. We've already seen top prospects refuse to go to teams just because they don't like the management. We don't think that this happens in droves when an 18 year old is told they have to move to London full time?

Especially the mama's boys.

[neckdemon]

I actually, unfortunately agree with that jackass

Goodell blows.

 

 

lol.....i really don't care about goodell one way or the other. i still happen to think that the overall product of nfl football is fine though.

 

only thing that is lowering the product quality for jets fans is the new york jets

[neckdemon]

Does anyone think that a team in London could attract free agents?  While people may say that FAs will follow the money, how much of a difference will there need to be in order for someone to move overseas?  Then, what about the value of the pound vs. the dollar?  They'd probably need a whole different salary cap structure in order to make the financially competitive.  A million dollars here gets you a lot further than it does in London.  If the lack of income tax in FL is a draw for FAs, then the conversion of money must be a consideration.

 

And, how does this affect the draft and rookies.  We've already seen top prospects refuse to go to teams just because they don't like the management.  We don't think that this happens in droves when an 18 year old is told they have to move to London full time?

 

 

where there is money and vagina men will go

[The Crusher]

where there is money and vagina men will go

 

 

If this is true then Amsterdamn should be the destination.

[Jettington]

What I hate about the London idea is that you know it's going to mean that the AFC East will be the division that is broken up because of it and we will have to travel to London once a year. The AFC East makes the most sense since the NFL will be reluctant to break up the NFC East with those long standing historical rivalries. Watch the NFL move the Dolphins to the AFC south, transfer the Jaguars to the AFC East and to London so teams close to the coast like NEW, NYJ, and BUF have less of a burden traveling than say the Texans, or Titans who are in the central time zone and farther away.

[slats]

What I hate about the London idea is that you know it's going to mean that the AFC East will be the division that is broken up because of it and we will have to travel to London once a year. The AFC East makes the most sense since the NFL will be reluctant to break up the NFC East with those long standing historical rivalries. Watch the NFL move the Dolphins to the AFC south, transfer the Jaguars to the AFC East and to London so teams close to the coast like NEW, NYJ, and BUF have less of a burden traveling than say the Texans, or Titans who are in the central time zone and farther away.

The Bucs and Jags have to be the favorites to move to London.

I agree with gEYno, though, that there are some serious logistical problems. The money is a big issue. If the team doesn't have it's base in the US, the taxes alone would stop any player from going over there. And right now, every team that plays there gets their bye the following week. How do they schedule a whole season like that? Have them play on the road for the last month every year?

They're trying to push it, but there are too many problems. Be different if you could set up a whole European division - but no one else cares about the NFL.

[Jettington]

The Bucs and Jags have to be the favorites to move to London.

I agree with gEYno, though, that there are some serious logistical problems. The money is a big issue. If the team doesn't have it's base in the US, the taxes alone would stop any player from going over there. And right now, every team that plays there gets their bye the following week. How do they schedule a whole season like that? Have them play on the road for the last month every year?

They're trying to push it, but there are too many problems. Be different if you could set up a whole European division - but no one else cares about the NFL.

 

They'd probably have the team play 3 game road trips, home for 3 games, another 3 game road trip, etc It puts the players and team management at a competitive disadvantage, they will never be able to attract top free agents, which means the team will always be at a disadvantage when it comes to acquiring talent. 

 

You also have to consider the time difference. Taking the +5 time difference into consideration, there SHOULD NEVER be a Sunday night football game or a Monday night football game with London as the home team, because that essentially means the away team is playing a game as if it starts at 1:30 AM (for an 8:30 pm start time EST).

 

Also, consider the effect on the London team traveling to the west coast to play what is a 1pm game on the west coast. That's a -8 hour time difference for the London team, they'd be playing the game as if it started at 5 am; it's totally ridiculous. Even if the traveling teams commit to the smart strategy of staying on their "home time" they're still feeling the effects of playing a football game at 5 am or 1:30 am in these instances.

[dbatesman]

Goodell is eroding the quality of play at every turn. Those Thursday Night games look like scrimmages and the London games are sub-WLAF quality. The athletes aren't built to travel like this, or play on short schedules like this. Throw in his weird, fugazi, mission to avoid concussion litigation and you're getting a lesser product. This a$$hole wants to throw 18 games on everybody's schedule. He's the Pol Pot of commissioners.

 

Well said. Goodell's a lucky-sperm assclown who embodies a good number of the most abominable things about this country right now.

[NJ]

He's a dope for trying to stick a team in the UK. The travel times are ridiculous and aren't trivial in terms of jet lag. I'd be amazed if there were enough Brits that cared to consistently out draw the Florida Marlins.

[bitonti]

the London plan includes  a team HQ in the northeast USA. so they hang out there and play 4 "road" games in a row perhaps. there are creative ways to get it done. all of these reasons not to do it in UK meanwhile what's the compelling reason to have an NFL team in jacksonville or tampa bay?  the NFL is not a capitalism it is a 32 branch communism and certain branches are underperforming.

[southparkcpa]

the London plan includes  a team HQ in the northeast USA. so they hang out there and play 4 "road" games in a row perhaps. there are creative ways to get it done. all of these reasons not to do it in UK meanwhile what's the compelling reason to have an NFL team in jacksonville or tampa bay?  the NFL is not a capitalism it is a 32 branch communism and certain branches are underperforming.

Fans in UK tell us there is almost NO interest. Most bars in London etc...don't show any NFL games. Goodell, IMO, is reaching.

Team in London will make JAX look like Green Bay. Who wants to play there as a player?

[PFSIKH]

They'd probably have the team play 3 game road trips, home for 3 games, another 3 game road trip, etc It puts the players and team management at a competitive disadvantage, they will never be able to attract top free agents, which means the team will always be at a disadvantage when it comes to acquiring talent. 

 

You also have to consider the time difference. Taking the +5 time difference into consideration, there SHOULD NEVER be a Sunday night football game or a Monday night football game with London as the home team, because that essentially means the away team is playing a game as if it starts at 1:30 AM (for an 8:30 pm start time EST).

 

Also, consider the effect on the London team traveling to the west coast to play what is a 1pm game on the west coast. That's a -8 hour time difference for the London team, they'd be playing the game as if it started at 5 am; it's totally ridiculous. Even if the traveling teams commit to the smart strategy of staying on their "home time" they're still feeling the effects of playing a football game at 5 am or 1:30 am in these instances.

 

 

Actually, it works the other way.  A tam in London would get boned with a late night game as it would be played in the early hours of the morning.

 

Now a team in Tokyo....