NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: International team possible

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is weighing the potential for an international team.

“I would say that the markets outside the U.S. are very, very attractive,” Goodell told CNBC in an exclusive interview. “And we’ve got pretty good coverage here.”

The league has been expanding international play in recent years, with match-ups this season taking place in Brazil, Ireland, England, Germany and Spain. It’s long seen success with games in London, in particular.

Goodell said standing up a London-based team was “possible,” adding, “There are markets that could certainly support a team. We’ve always focused on, what are the competitive consequences of that? Can we manage that? And so every year we try to learn something from the international series.” 

The Minnesota Vikings are playing back-to-back international games in the coming weeks, something Goodell said has “never been done before.” 

The Vikings will play the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin on Sunday, followed by the Cleveland Browns in London on Oct. 5. 

“It starts to give you a sense of, can you do certain things that are going to be necessary from a scheduling standpoint and a training standpoint? When we first came up with the idea of [an international] regular season game, I didn’t think there would be as much support. But now, every team wants to do it,” Goodell said. “We don’t have to talk them into it. They’re asking us.”

Mark Shapiro, longtime sports media executive and currently the president and chief operating officer of TKO Group, said last week international expansion for major sports leagues “is a winner.”

“I think this international play … I’m not speaking as a fact … is not profitable yet, but it will be,” Shapiro said of the NFL’s aspirations overseas at the IMG x RedBird Summit in England.

“As U.S. rights holders, we just see things through the U.S. lens. It’s very myopic,” he said. “Do it right in some of these other countries. Do it right in Europe. Do it right in Asia.”

A Week 1 NFL game in Brazil, streamed on YouTube, drew 16.2 million U.S. fans and 1.1 million international fans, showcasing the growth potential of the league if Goodell can expand the game globally. 

Shapiro said while international time zones can pose a challenge, it’s not necessarily a new hurdle, noting the difficulties with scheduling even inside U.S. borders, due to West Coast games.

“The bottom line is, you’re never going to get that right. You’re never going to get a time zone that works for everybody,” said Shapiro. “When you start talking about events being global in nature, it just gets even harder on the time zone, but you have to adjust.”

Goodell praised the league’s partnership with YouTube, specifically citing the platform’s ability to reach a younger audience. YouTube acquired Sunday Ticket from DirecTV three years ago, and the Brazil game was the first-ever game on the main, free platform. 

“I think there’s so many different directions that relationship will go, and it won’t be one, it’ll be many,” Goodell said of YouTube. “Sunday Ticket has been a huge hit for them as well as for us.”

Sources familiar with the matter told CNBC that Sunday Ticket currently has between 2 million and 5 million subscribers – so, more than DirecTV had but still a somewhat niche product.

“It’s hitting a younger demographic,” Goodell said. “It’s the technology they bring. They’re changing the way people are watching sports, whether it’s multiview or just for creators.”

Still, Goodell pushed back on the notion that younger viewers aren’t watching full games anymore.

“I know everyone says kids don’t watch. That’s not true, in our experience,” he said. “I think they may be watching with multiple screens or several devices. They’re watching their fantasy team or they’re watching some aspects of the game. But that’s fine. That’s what we do.”

Shapiro said burgeoning media partners like YouTube will only continue to claim share and boost media rights valuations.

“Why hasn’t YouTube jumped in, in a big way, at this point?” Shapiro said, adding that Sunday Ticket was a way of getting the company’s “feet wet.”

“Obviously, they are making money hand over fist. They’re running a business. It’s a destination for everyone,” Shapiro said. “Forget there is no demo — it’s the world that’s their demo.”