Las Vegas and the Super Bowl appeared to be large talking points at the NFL’s Spring meetings. However, the talk of a team to London was a big one among NFL owners.
According to CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora, the owners had long talks about the potential move overseas. Mark Waller, the person who runs the NFL’s international operations, reportedly convinced owners that the move to London is a definite possibility.
From there, discussion turned toward the logistics of having a team in London. These talks centered around compensation, and recruiting. The discussion got far enough down the line that owners began discussing contingency plans. Owners asked questions such as, “What happens when a London team reaches the playoffs and faces a team from beyond the Midwest?”
Competition questions such as these were most of the discussion, as La Canfora points out.
“That was the thing they seemed to have the most difficulty figuring out,” said one team exec who closely watched the session. “They aren’t sure how to handle that from a competitive standpoint, but judging from how Waller spoke about, it’s definitely something they are spending a fair amount of time working on.”
These talks seem to be a natural part of the NFL’s movement overseas. The league continues to add more games in London and isn’t even guaranteeing teams a bye week anymore. The fact that these talks were about concrete logistics also suggests that the NFL is serious about the London move.
Watch out Los Vegas, London might soon catch all of the re-location headlines.
