As the NFL increases its footprint in London, with a game played there for a third straight week on Sunday, a report surfaced that the league is considering playing a Super Bowl in the city in the future.
According to ESPN, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said at a fan forum this week that the league has talked about London hosting the Super Bowl.
“It is not impossible, and it is something that has been discussed before,” Goodell said.
There is no timetable for a potential London Super Bowl and the sites are set for the next three years, with Las Vegas hosting this season, followed by New Orleans in 2025 and Santa Clara, California (home of the 49ers) in 2026.
As for London, the ESPN report said there’s “no momentum’’ towards moving a Super Bowl there, but a source told the network, “Absolutely, it would make sense.’’
But Goodell sounded like he might need some convincing.
“I think that is not out of the question,’’ Goodell said. “But at the end of the day, I think right now our formula will stay the same about playing [Super Bowls] in cities that have franchises.”
He added: “I think being able to play it in one of our cities – it’s a huge economic boost to those cities. Our fans live in those cities, also. I think that is important. Not that we do not have great fans here [in London]; we do. So as the international series develops, maybe that is a possibility as we play more games here.”
If the league went ahead with plans for a Super Bowl in Europe, it would have to deal with the time difference.
Games played there during the regular season have typically been scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time, which is 9:30 a.m. ET.
A London Super Bowl, according to ESPN, would likely have to be played at 8:30 p.m. local time, which would be 3:30 p.m. ET.
Back in 2018, Goodell said he didn’t foresee a Super Bowl in London without a franchise being based in the city, noting at the time that “ownership really feels strongly that that’s a reward for our fans. I think if you had a franchise here, I think it would come into play. I think without a franchise, it’s probably difficult.”