The NFL has seen incredible success with their sport being featured at Wembley, consistently selling out the stadium is now the norm for the Americans, who seem set to increase their dominance on foreign waters.
With Jacksonville Jaguars now playing one home game a season in the UK, the NFL seem to be making steps in the right direction towards the goal of having a London-based team permanently.
2022 is the current target for NFL chiefs to secure the goal, and the Jaguars seem to be the team penned in to relocate to a new home in London with the aim of them completing all home games in the English capital.
Strong move for the Jaguars
Having just secured a deal with Tottenham Hotspur to feature an NFL game at the club's brand new stadium (another huge deal, showcasing more great progress), the ground could eventually be used as the home stadium for the Jaguars should they move.
It would make sense for the Florida based team to move into the ground, as it’s slightly smaller capacity in comparison to Wembley would provide a better chance of guaranteed sell outs.
As the Jaguars are currently one of the weaker sides in the NFL, the opportunity to be the 'lab rats' for this test could turn out to be a fantastic decision, as the revenue and income they would receive would certainly be greater than what they currently get.
There are plenty of passionate English supporters, ready and willing to spend big money to see the sport live rather than on their TV screen, and having the chance to do so for a full season would be something that would benefit the Jags exponentially.
But even though the NFL seem to belining straight for their target with seemingly nothing in their path, will they be able to sustain the momentum they’ve built, or will it turn out to simply be a novelty?
Is the demand big enough?
On paper, the idea of having an NFL sid in England makes sense; home games every season, a new sport for the country, allowing one of the world’s biggest sports into England on a permanent basis.
On the other hand, is it something the general public are genuinely passionate about or is it simply just the fact that it is marketed as a 'must see' event in a similar way to the Magic Weekend or the Emirates Cup?
That would be the fear for most people. The NFL are having no problems selling out matches when they are taking place over one weekend a year, but doing it every single week will be no small feat, and it's going to be a difficult task should it happen.
The season would clash with the football campaign which could prove the biggest hurdle for the NFL in terms of gaining fan interest. People might want to skip one game a year for the chance to see American Football live, but every single week is something most die hard football (soccer) fans will simply not do.
During these once a year events, NFL fans from across Europe descend upon London in the masses, contributing large amounts of the crowd to really help sell the stadiums, but again this is something that is unlikely to take place for every single home game during a season, every year, as the cost would simply be astronomical.
Another issue they might face is the fact that the Jacksonville Jaguars as mentioned previously, are one of the NFL's weaker teams, meaning the quality of football played would not be of the highest standard. Despite hte best efforts of Blake Bortles to do otherwise.
Of course, the chance to see other teams from the league come and play would be magnificent and they would be the ones providing the quality, but the team that the English public would be expected to back and support can not live up to that form of pressure.
Other Complications
The simple matter of whether or not they would sell enough tickets and gain a big enough audience and demand is not the only obstacle that the NFL will face, there are actually numerous issues that could put a halt to this plan.
Difficulty in convincing all the teams in the NFL could be an issue. They will have to complete a large amount of travel to take part in the games in England, and that could provide a major reason for other sides to not agree to the idea.
Not only will the sides have to be convinced, but the support of the American NFL fans will be crucial for this idea to ever become more than a pipe dream. Given that they are the people pumping large sums of money into games, a lack of support may cause an issue.
Winning them over maybe a tougher task than people realize, just imagine your favorite football club going to play all their home games in the States, would you be pleased and back the decision?
There is a long road ahead before any final decisions will be made, with many meetings and plans to be carried out to determine what is best for everyone. It is clear to see that this is a financial decision, being made by the highest level of staff at the NFL, as they look to continue to grow what is already one of the biggest sports in the world.
Whether or not the NFL sends a team to be based from London or any other part of Europe remains to be seen, but they have already got games booked ready for the 2016 tour, and the deal that is already so successful will no doubt continue to be so.