NFL expansion is on the horizon. It’s likely not happening in the immediate future, but it’s an ever-present discussion among the league’s media partners. Overseas expansion seems very much in play, though the practicalities are up for debate, even with the increased number of international games in Mexico, England, Germany, and beyond.
Any future expansion will see a windfall for the existing 32 franchises, and likely lead to a form of restructuring. The demand is certainly there, though, with the continuing increase in support around the world. Here are the most likely expansion cities in the coming years.
London
Regular-season games have been played in London since 2007. Since 2013, the UK has hosted multiple games per season, with the exception of the pandemic-impacted 2020 campaign.
The Jaguars have been ‘London’s team’, with the franchise playing at least one game in London since 2018. Suggestions the Jags could become permanent residence at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have been talked down in recent years, though Tottenham’s home is built with the NFL in mind and seems destined to be a permanent NFL stadium at some stage.
Is there demand for more NFL games in London? Yes. Does it logistically work? Well, that’s a much trickier question. Teams can’t always get a bye week after playing in the UK. How much of a disadvantage would it be for their divisional opponents? And would the London-based franchise be going back and forth every week?
Toronto
The second-most discussed potential NFL expansion franchise has been Toronto, Canada. Buffalo has been Canada’s adopted franchise until now, but it’s not out of the question that Toronto becomes home to a team in the near future.
MLB, the NBA, and NHL have Canadian teams in their leagues. Toronto is represented in all three, with the NHL seeing a much stronger split of Canadian teams.
A sports mad city with considerable interest in football, Toronto has the fanbase to pack an NFL stadium for eight or nine weeks a year. Facilities become a bigger question, though, as there’s no option like Tottenham’s stadium to be the permanent residence of an expansion franchise.
San Diego
Home to the Chargers between 1961 and 2017, San Diego is the largest metropolitan market in the US without an NFL team. It is the only market with a population above 3.2 million to not be represented in professional football.
Much like the frequency with which Seattle is murmured as a destination in the NBA, San Diego has long been considered too large a market not to have an NFL team. It feels unlikely it’ll happen so soon after the Chargers’ departure, and my guess is the NFL might experiment with a different market first.
Mexico City
Could the NFL tip their toes into the international franchise waters with Mexico? Numerous regular season games have been held at Estadio Azteca, with each game garnering crowds north of 76,000.
Fanatical about their soccer, a flavor of that obsessive support could be a great thing for the NFL. It’s also much easier from a travelling perspective than London and doesn’t raise any jetlag or bye week questions to answer.
This one feels a long way down the list of likely franchise cities, though it would fit with the league’s international growth goals. Europe has been the primary target for Roger Goodell’s regular-season initiatives, but there’s nothing to say Mexico couldn’t be a compromise.
San Antonio
San Antonio follows San Diego as the second market that has been realistically considered as an NFL city in recent memory. The Raiders reportedly pondered a move to the Alamo City before opting for Las Vegas in 2014.
Home to a successful NBA franchise, there’s surely room for a football team in a populous city. Texas is maniacal about football in a way few other states can rival, and San Antonio is underserved across sport, with only one franchise across the major leagues.
Only two NFL teams, the Texans and Cowboys, are located in Texas. The NBA has three with the Rockets, Mavericks, and Spurs, while MLB has the Rangers and Astros.
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