On Friday, Sept. 6, The Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers sampled new turf for the first time ever — commencing the team’s 2024 season with a game in Sao Paulo Brazil.
Expanding American football and including different countries to make the National Football League (NFL) a worldwide fan-base sport is a game changer for the corporation, but it could affect the way the game is played. This leaves fans like me, as well as other students around Emmaus High School wondering: is this a good idea for the league?
It wouldn’t be the first time that other countries have been involved with the NFL; they had their first ever international game in 2005 at Estadio Azteca, in Mexico City. Since then, there have been more than 50 international games. For the 2024-25 season, the league plans on having games in São Paulo, London, Munich, and Madrid.
I think this expansion is great, but judging how the first international game of the season went, it raises questions about impartial games. During the Week 1 game when the Philadelphia Eagles were playing the Green Bay Packers, players were slipping on the field and had trouble getting traction while playing. If players are slipping on the field and getting injured, it makes people question why we are having these teams play on soccer turf instead of a regular football field. The turf is new to teams, which could put them both at a disadvantage for being able to play to their full capabilities.
While the NFL is trying to expand their fanbase, they could slowly lose their original fan base of people who had loved watching this sport for a long time with this disadvantage.
“I think it’s really cool that the NFL is trying to spread the sport around the world,” senior Jasmine Shahda said.
Over the last few years there have been rumors going around that the NFL is looking to add a new division to Europe. This would cause the fan base to expand greatly and the league’s revenue to increase greatly with the new markets. Global markets would rise since people would be traveling for games and would be paying for food, hotels, and some services depending on where they are.
The NFl’s Global Markets Program announced four new clubs and five new markets starting in the 2024 season. These four clubs granted rights in a total of six different countries. The five new markets include Argentina, Columbia, Japan, Nigeria, and South Korea.
This is very promising for the profits of the NFL and their teams At this rate, the NFL could successfully obtain stable fan bases and spread American football around the world.
“I feel like it would be good to expand more and get more players in. If it’s in Europe it would get better exposure,” said junior Jayden Swan , an NFL fan at EHS.
The NFL is going down an historic path that will change regular American football and lead it towards becoming a successful international campaign. This expansion can have positive and negative outcomes depending on which way the league takes it. International games have been successful thus far, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
