The rise of the NFL in the UK

It’s not easy to be a fan of the NFL in the United Kingdom. The American sport sometimes requires that those across the pond stay up quite late in order to see a full game, and it’s not exactly the dominant sport throughout the country. Despite that, American football has grown immensely in the UK just in the last decade.

When AS visited London for the NFL games at Tottenham, that was obvious. While there were several American fans in attendance, there was also an overwhelming amount of British football fans, and not only of the two teams playing. And they’re all in agreement - they want to see the NFL expand in their part of the globe.

History of American football in the UK

Here’s a very brief history of the sport in the UK: American football actually was played in the United Kingdom as far back as 1910, when two visiting warships played there, but it continued to be played mostly by Americans for the next 70 years. In the 1980s, however, two things happened that caused a major shift in interest in the NFL in the UK: games started to be broadcast on television, and the league brought one preseason game over to England to be played on UK soil, at Wembley Stadium in London.

It didn’t exactly spread like wildfire at that time, but as the NFL continued to hold one preseason game a year in Europe throughout the next few decades, it started to slowly catch on. In 2006, Roger Goodell became the NFL Commissioner and he made it his mission to spread the NFL worldwide. In 2007, the NFL introduced its International Series, and the first regular season game between the New York Giants and Miami Dolphins was held in front of 81,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.

Since that day, the NFL has continued to grow its brand in the UK by hosting at least one game there every year (with the exception of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic). It was such a success that by 2013, there were two regular season games held in London, and by 2014, there were three. There have been at least two every year since then, and there were even four in 2017 and 2019. And since 2019, Tottenham Hotspur has added a fully retractable field which can transform from soccer to American football in just 25 minutes. This year, there was one game at Wembley Stadium between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons and two at Tottenham, between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens.

Now, the UK fans of the NFL have more than one opportunity to watch a live game every year without having to fly to a far-away country or spend loads of money to do so, and they appreciate it.

What do the UK citizens think of American football?

Well, certainly the ones who attend the games are big fans who unanimously want it to continue growing. Since the majority of the games happen in the afternoon in the U.S. now, UK citizens are able to watch them at either 6 p.m. or 9 p.m. on Sundays - a much more reasonable hour than the later games of the past, though the really dedicated fans will stay up late to watch their favorite team even when they play late into the night. The ability to actually attend games in London though, has made the buzz around it that much louder.

“It’s a great way to expand what is a brilliant sport into a territory where there’s a lot of scope for expansion,” said one fan ahead of the Titans vs Ravens game on October 15.

“I love having the games here in London,” said another UK fan. “The atmosphere is really good, and it’s a chance for fans to come together, because this is a Titans Ravens game, but really, it’s an NFL game. It’s an international NFL game where fans can come together, whatever team you support.”

Indeed, one of the biggest differences you’ll notice when attending an NFL game in the UK vs the U.S. is the fans of teams from all around the NFL. In the U.S., you mostly see supporters just of the teams playing that game, whereas in the UK, you see fans of all 32 teams, coming to just enjoy the sport during the few opportunities they get during the NFL season.

Exposure will lead to more fans

What was quite clear from attending the London Games is that the more a sport is exposed in the media and accessible to the people, the more interest will grow. The NFL games in London are wildly successful every year and with the addition of gameday broadcasts to the UK’s major network, Sky Sports, plus the Red Zone Channel, and NFL Game Day Morning, the growing interest is undeniable.

“I think just growing their fanbase. It’s obviously huge in America, but I think there’s so much they could do over here, over in Germany, where ever else they go,” said one fan ahead of the Bills vs Jaguars game on October 8. “There’s probably a lot of money in it even if they have to spend more, I think they could definitely grow it.”

“I think they’re growing revenue with a bigger market,” said another fan. “I mean, it would be nice for the ‘world’ champions to not just be coming from America,” he said, cheekily. “They call themselves the world champions but they’re only playing American teams. So it would be good to open it up a little bit.”

Is there a possibility for the UK to have its own team or league?

According to Roger Goodell, that is the goal. Last year, he said he thought there could even be two NFL franchises in London. “I really believe that. That’s from a fan perspective, from a commercial standpoint, and from a media standpoint,” he said. Despite the fact that most NFL fans in the UK have already chosen a U.S.-based team to support, they were in agreement that a London-based team is something they’d love to see.

“The NFL makes so much money. The Jacksonville Jaguars make more money out of their two London games than any game they make in Jacksonville, Florida, so why shouldn’t they come here? " said a London-based Raiders superfan. “Why shouldn’t they expand the league? We’ve got the facilities, we’ve got the stadiums…so teams could come here. We should have a franchise. I think it would be successful. I think European fans would support it, and I would support the games, but obviously I’m still a Raider first-off.”

“I reckon in four or five years, we’ll have a London team here playing full-time,” said another fan.

“There’s definitely the market for it. You sell out every London game,” said another fan. “It’s a case of the logistics of putting it in place. Jacksonville have been talking about coming here for so long and it’s never quite come into fruition. It’s doable, but it would take some work.”

Indeed, the logistics are complicated. And one thing to note is that there has actually been a slight decline in attendance and participation in American football in the UK in the last few years, which means that what they’re doing to promote games overseas is good, but not enough long-term.

“There’s a lot of buzz around it, but there definitely could be more. It’s not widely publicized enough,” said a UK fan. “I definitely think that they [the NFL] could [have a local team or youth team in the UK]. Because of the scope, there’d be enough fans to really get involved. Especially if the Jags move over. That would be really inspirational for young people to see. We need to see it. We need to reach a bit more. We need it to be more accessible.”

A London franchise would certainly help that, but it may be a vicious cycle - interest helps build a franchise, building a franchise helps build interest. One of the logistical complaints about the London Games is the time difference and travel time. Then again, many other sports team do it for international competitions and don’t encounter too many issues. And of course, if the UK had its own franchise, that would rid that team of all the logistical issues.

“The old argument that it’s a 5-hour flight or it’s a time zone, that’s rubbish,” said a UK-based Raiders fan who has traveled to over 200 games in the U.S. “When I go to the states, I’m sitting in coach at the back of a plane in a little seat. You’re not telling me an NFL player’s sitting there with me. He’s in that great-big, wide seat at the front. And they can be accustomed.”

A good point, indeed. And the NFL is working on it.

NFL’s International expansion

The NFL announced a new marketing initiative in 2022 which gave 19 teams the option to market themselves across as many as eight different countries. The teams who were granted the initiative will now be allowed to host events, sponsorships, and host games internationally.

In addition to the idea of a London team, in 2022, Goodell also mentioned the idea of a whole NFL European division consisting of four teams. Those teams would play in Europe for 11-12 of the 17 games and five in the U.S., which could be scheduled to allow just two overseas flights. Then, the teams based in the U.S. would fly overseas for their games against European opponents, which could be scheduled back-to-back so that they only have to make one trip abroad.

Having a European division would allow for the possibility of football becoming a bigger college sport, plus alleviate many of the logistical issues. It could open up more opportunities for development grounds for players abroad and bring in an even bigger revenue for the sport in general. Whether it would be four existing teams or four new teams remains a question, but the fact that it’s even in discussion brings hope that the NFL will continue to rise, not only in the UK, but on a much, much bigger international scope as well.

“We love the game here in the UK,” said the Raiders fan. “Millions of people watch it every Sunday night, and you can see from the stadium here today and the two games in the last two weeks, the NFL is big here in the UK, and it’s just going to get bigger. So keep coming!”