As the NFL continues to expand into Europe with frequent regular season games across the continent, nobody has seen these new markets up close more than Rich Eisen.
Eisen is the lead announcer for NFL Network-exclusive broadcasts for games in England and Germany alongside Kurt Warner and is bullish on the league’s popularity overseas. However, Eisen is pumping the brakes on the idea of a full-time franchise stationed in Europe any time soon.
In an interview on the Sports Media Podcast from Sports Business Journal ahead of Week 6 of the NFL season, Eisen explained why it would be a “competitive disadvantage” for the European franchise as well as visiting teams.
“It would be very difficult to have a full-time franchise over here in Europe,” Eisen explained.
Eisen believes it would be incredibly disruptive to the NFL schedule and the lives of its coaches and athletes to operate a single overseas franchise.
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“It would be a competitive disadvantage for a team to come from the States and play a team that is used to the time zone for weeks beforehand. It would be a competitive disadvantage for a team in London, for instance, going to the United States and playing games on the road. They wouldn’t be able to be flying back and forth. I imagine they would give them two if not three road games in a row to set up shop in one geographically sound location to travel to the other spots. You’d have to tell players, ‘Hey guess what, you’re drafted, you’re now moving to Europe,’ or ‘Hey if you want to sign with us, you’ve got to move your family.’
So while commissioner Roger Goodell has pushed the idea of overseas expansion, Eisen thinks it’s too early. However, Eisen is all aboard with the idea of a weekly game in a foreign market, whether it’s at 9:30 a.m. ET in Europe or a night game somewhere like Brazil, where Peacock aired an exclusive game in Week 1.
“There’s just a lot of issues with stationing a team, I believe, here. But there’s no issues in terms of building a fan base here,” Eisen added. “And basically having an international roadshow showing off the popularity of the sport in different towns across the globe, and different crowds. I think it would absolutely be a smash hit.”
Eisen may be right, but the NFL isn’t slowing down. As it pushes for an 18-game schedule and more regular international matchups, the league is increasingly global.
Maybe a franchise in Europe is a long way away, but a full division on the continent could make sense in the future. Expect the NFL to explore every option to continue its dominance in global sports.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.