Would a London NFL Franchise Pose a Threat to Premiership Rugby?
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Semi Radradra of Bristol Bears scores the opening try during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between London Irish and Bristol Bears at Twickenham Stoop on October 04, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
American football officially landed in the UK on October 27, 2007, when the New York Giants defeated the Miami Dolphins in a regular season contest at Wembley Stadium.
In the 13 years since the NFL has become a bit of a juggernaut in the UK with a rapidly expanding fanbase. The highest league of American football spends considerable money and pays close attention to courting its supporters across the pond every year.
How much the NFL directly invests in the UK annually is a fuzzy number, but the returns are impressive.
The league has staged 28 games in London as part of an International Series—at least one per season—since the inaugural Giants-Dolphins match. Four London games were held in 2019, two at Wembley and a christening pair at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tickets across last year’s installment sold out, grossing in excess of €25.8 million. That doesn’t account for the local economic impact.
According to the NFL’s own research, the UK boasts 15 million American fans, four million of which are considered “avid.”
London Calling
Amid the NFL’s dalliances with the UK, calls from supporters are mounting for the league to permanently locate a club in London. Such a move is hypothetical at the moment, and the NFL has no current plans underway.
Still, league officials are leaving the door open. In November, Chris Halpin, the NFL’s head of International and chief growth officer, told Newsweek “there is nothing blocking us from having a franchise in London.”
NFL vs. Premiership
An NFL team competing in London for eight games a season could contend with the Premiership for fan attention and revenue.
American football was heavily influenced by rugby, and the sports share a number of similarities to this day.
The NFL is a formidable league. It raked in €11.4 billion in revenue in 2019. In North America, millions wager on NFL betting odds at sportsbooks and compete in fantasy NFL leagues. The Super Bowl is watched globally by over 100 million annual viewers.
The leagues share overlapping seasons. In 2020-21, the NFL regular season campaign began in September as the Premiership finished out its 2019-20 slate. The American football campaign continues from November through the Super Bowl in early February as the Premiership resumes. Both leagues play a full card on Sundays.
Scheduling conflicts could lead fans to pick and choose between leagues when attending or viewing matches.
The NFL is the bigger shark when it comes to spectator counts. If an NFL team calls Wembley home, there’s no reason to believe average per-match attendance would dip much below the 86,000 seat configuration for American football.
Meanwhile, the Wasps‘ home venue of Ricoh Stadium is the largest Premiership facility with a capacity of 32,753.
Then there’s the matter of player recruitment. In 2017, Christian Scotland-Williamson of the Worcester Warriors departed the Premiership for a shot at the NFL. He spent 2018 through July 2020 affiliated with the Pittsburgh Steelers on practice squad and reserve/future contracts.
England Sevens standout Alex Gray followed a similar path, spending the 2017 to 2019 NFL seasons on practice squads with the Atlanta Falcons.
Neither Scotland-Williamson nor Gray secured an active NFL roster spot. Both have yet to return to rugby.
Christian Wade’s NFL dream remains alive as a member of the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad.
With an NFL team on English soil, more of the nation’s top rugby talent may elect to try their hands at American football. Whether players choose the NFL for the salary or novelty, the league has the power to siphon Premiership players. Developing players could also cut their rugby careers short for NFL ambitions.
A Harmonious Future?
Of course, the NFL and Premiership can find a way to co-exist in the UK. There’s cooperation between the leagues dating back to 2013 when they teamed up to explore launching a professional rugby union competition in the US.
A top-flight rugby league finally arrived in the US with the launch of Major League Rugby in 2018. Perhaps the time is right for the NFL to set up shop in the US.
