The NFL is very strategic, they announce things so the press will keep the NFL in relevant sports conversations. Every few weeks, even in the off-season, they schedule something meaningful. This past Friday they showed how their marketing department is going a step further, and now they are making “announcements.” The announcement was that the Miami Dolphins will be the home team when the league, this upcoming season, has its first ever NFL game in Madrid, Spain.
You may be saying, “big deal, so the Dolphins will be playing in Spain.” But, what I mean by going a step further, is that the NFL did not “announce” who the visiting team would be. This is something interesting that gets fans and media talking, and is brilliant on the part of the NFL. Now, we already know the schedule so we know it has to be one of nine teams, and we can use a few factors to narrow down the field with a few educated guesses.
the educated guesses
Let’s start off with some simple math: the nine teams each have a roughly 11% chance of being the first-ever visiting team in an NFL game in Spain.
Educated guess #1– The New England Patriots are not an option. They have played on foreign soil in each of the last two seasons, Germany in 2023 and London in 2024. No team other than the Jacksonville Jaguars, who play in London every year, have ever played three international games in three consecutive years. The Jaguars multiyear agreement with the NFL and Wembley Stadium does end after the 2024 season. Just for a quick bit of reference, Shad Khan, the Jaguars owner, also owns Fulham F.C. Fulham is based out of London, but they call Craven Cottage home, not Wembley Stadium. The yearly game has been played in Wembley Stadium because it has a seating capacity of 90,00 compared to the 29,589 of Craven Cottage. And yes, according to the NFL every game played in London has been a sellout, with only 3% of the people in attendance being from America.
Educated Guess #2– The New York Jets can be eliminated. They played in London last year and it has already been announced they will be a host team in London for the 2025 season as well.
Educated Guess #3– Since the NFL expanded the season to 17 games three years ago, only one of the ten games played in Europe has been teams facing each other from the same conference. This would seemingly eliminate the Dolphins and NFC teams they are hosting by the already announced schedule. Those teams would be the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Educated Guess #4– So, now we are down to four teams. The Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Cincinnati Bengals. Both the Ravens and Bills have played international games in 2023 and both the Chargers and Bengals have not been involved in an international game since 2019. I will go ahead and eliminate the Bills right now. The NFL has not had a divisional game as an international game since—ironically—2019. The NFL knows, and it has been proven as mentioned above, that these games will sell out and can thus schedule divisional games in the states.
does the new bengal’s star power make them more APPEALING?
Maybe new is not the right term, extended may be a better word. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are both getting 4-year extensions, Chase reportedly receiving $161M and Higgins $112M. Along with popular and talented quarterback Joe Burrow, they have three legitimate and marketable offensive stars. I would assume the NFL would see the Bengals as more marketable internationally with jersey sales and other merchandise.
as a bengals fan, do you want them to play an away game in spain?
First, it is an away game. They would not be giving up any of the advantages a home game provides. There is the travel, and there are the distractions. Distractions as in more media, a different media from another country, and I am sure each player has to be more available to those media members. There is not only the travel for the players, but for the front office and other employees of the team. I know if I worked for the team in any capacity I would be doing all I could to get a free trip to Madrid, Spain. Then, there are the families. I am sure the NFL is as accommodating as possible, but if my brother played for the team or my sister worked for the team, I again would be doing all I could do to get a free or even reduced trip to Madrid, Spain.
Why do I bring all this up? Well, I know I am a routine person, and anything that takes me out of that routine is a distraction. As a fan, I am hoping to be traveling to the Super Bowl, and if the team traveling to London disrupts that ultimate goal, then I want nothing to do with it.
I understand it would be an honor, and it would be a really great experience for the team and players. But, do the distractions outweigh that cool experience? It would also be different for me if I thought the team had little-to-no shot at a play-off berth. But I do not think that, and because of that I hope the NFL chooses the Chargers to face the Dolphins in Madrid, Spain.
What are your thoughts? Please share them in the comments below, and I will be sure to interact with you.
Photo Credit; Vives.FUTBOL, Facebook, DeviantArt, Wallpapers.com
Stats and Information Credit; Jay Morrison of SI.com
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