The NFL held its third regular season match in London yesterday, the New England Patriots beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35-7 at Wembley Stadium. Goodell said at the Global Sport Summit conference in the capital on Friday that a franchise might move or the league could establish a new team.
“Ultimately, where [will an extra franchise] end up? I think it’s very practical, if the interest continues to grow, that we could have an NFL franchise in London,” he said.
Patriots owner owner Robert Kraft told reporters the day before the game that he has always been an ardent supporter of the NFL expanding overseas. “I really believe it’d be the right thing to do sometime in the next decade. There should be a franchise here. We’ve had great suppport here and in Germany, so we look forward and see what happens,” he said outside the Patriots’ temporary training ground at the Brit Oval cricket ground.
The NFL shut its European development Europa league in 2007 after annual losses of a reported $40 million.
