Coming to a stadium near you: more empty Sundays. The NFL announced Wednesday it has extended its International Series through 2025, with the addendum that now games will move beyond the United Kingdom.
The NFL has long stated its goal to push revenue to $25 billion by 2027. Reports pegged revenue at $12 billion for 2015. So that's $13 billion that needs to be created in the next dozen years. Coupled with moving a team (or teams) to Los Angeles, expanding the shield's footprint beyond our shores is the fastest way to get there.
“This marks an important step in our long-term international growth,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Fans in the UK have responded incredibly well to the regular-season games we have played in London since 2007. They have demanded more NFL games, and we have worked to accommodate them. We think it’s time to expand our International Series to other countries and respond to the growing interest in our game not only in the UK, but elsewhere around the world.”
The NFL has signed an agreement with English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur to host two games per year at its new London stadium to be completed in 2018.
Sites for future International Series games are expected to be announced later this fall.