From its genesis in America, the game of football is now gaining traction outside of the country. Other nations playing out beloved games is nothing new as professional football leagues like the Canadian Football League (CFL) and European League of Football (ELF) outside of America have existed for quite some time, but nothing like that of the National Football League (NFL). While they may play by differing rules and have quite a different style of play, one thing is clear–the support for football in other nations is present. To cater to these newfound fans the NFL, with its 32 teams across the United States, has begun to schedule games in different countries like the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada and even Germany. With the love of the game being so popular now more than ever, what comes next? 

One unlikely possibility to get a team outside of the United States is the moving of a current team to another country. While throughout the history of the NFL this has happened quite a few times, it is unlikely to take place on such a major scale. The most recent example of this was the Oakland Raiders making their way to the city of Las Vegas in 2020. While this move wasn’t unexpected, moves like the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore in 1996 can be much more problematic (hence why the Browns would return to Cleveland in 1999). So while it is possible to move one of the 32 teams outside of the country, it is extremely unlikely and all depends on team ownership and a three-quarters majority of ownership across the league. 

The last team to enter the NFL were the Houston Texans in 2002 and as the 32nd team to join the league the question has come up: when will they add more? While the sport is popular in other countries, there is quite a process ahead of any foreign nation that would like to join the NFL. In order to add a new team or an expansion, a vote of the current team owners would be necessary, and to push this through there would need to be a three-quarters majority of ownership. An expansion would also most likely require the addition of two teams at a time, one in the American Football Conference (AFC) and one in the National Football Conference (NFC) (the two separate conferences of the NFL). This would also require investors and a lot of them—according to Yahoo Finance, the average NFL franchise would cost roughly over 3 billion USD to gain traction. Then the question would become where to place such a team, and which country/city could support such a major sports team? 

While this is all speculation, two major cities come to mind: one being London, England, and the other being Toronto, Ontario (Canada). According to the Chicago Tribune, of the past 10 years the NFL has been playing in the city of London, only one of the fourteen games has not been completely sold out. Furthermore, Toronto is a major Canadian city with a SkyDome that would be perfect to support an NFL team. Not only do both these cities and surrounding areas have a proven affinity for the game, but they may also have the infrastructure to support such a structure. 

While at this time the idea of a new team in a country other than America seems unlikely, it is still well within possibility. The conversation is present and within the next years and further trial games, there is a real chance we could see the addition of a new team. Not only would this add to the competitiveness of the game, but it may also be a further bridge for unity amongst nations.