Again in January 2024, one-time Most Beneficial Participant and present NFL analyst Boomer Esiason hinted the league was nearer to shifting to an 18-game regular-season format than some realized. Since then, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made it known
on numerous occasions he thinks including an 18th regular-season contest to the schedule is the “logical” subsequent step for the league.
Throughout Friday’s version of the WFAN morning present, Esiason supplied a prediction a few European NFL division that has been rumored for years.
“I’m gonna let you know proper now, by 2029 — possibly 2028 — there will likely be an NFL division in Europe,” Esiason mentioned, as shared by Ryan Chichester of Audacy. “There are gonna be 4 groups over there. There’s gonna be an NFL division over there. Complete growth. There are such a lot of billionaires on the market proper now who need a piece of this. It’s gonna occur. After which they’ll go to an 18-game schedule.”
Per John Breech of CBS Sports activities, Goodell mentioned again within the fall of 2022 that he felt there was “no query that London might help not only one” however two NFL franchises.
“We’re making an attempt to kind of see, might you have a number of places in Europe the place you possibly can have an NFL franchise? As a result of it will be simpler as a division,” Goodell added at the moment.
People similar to The Athletic’s Eduardo Tansley routinely contact upon the NFL’s growing popularity in international locations similar to England, Germany, France and Spain. For the 2025 season, the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars will every play a sport in London. The Indianapolis Colts will function the designated workforce for a contest held in Berlin, Germany, whereas the Miami Dolphins will play because the designated membership for a matchup held within the metropolis of Madrid.
Some insiders are satisfied the NFL will quickly look to carry a Tremendous Bowl in both Europe or Australia.
Way back to the autumn of 2015, NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino famous how groups might “go on the street for 3 or 4 weeks at a time” as a part of including a European division to the NFL. On Friday, Esiason steered the wheels for such growth could already be in movement.
“It will likely be fascinating to see in the event that they do two groups in London, or possibly one in London, one in Frankfurt, and one in Madrid. I’m simply telling you, they’re on the point of develop … it’s gonna occur,” Esiason added through the present section.
Maybe the true query is: Will the NFL cease at 36 whole groups or look to develop past only one division over the following 10 years or so?
