Roger Goodell Can See Nfl Team in London Within Five Or 10 Years

ROGER GOODELL CAN SEE NFL TEAM IN LONDON WITHIN FIVE OR 10 YEARS
Vic Carucci
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news/...8-bf3c2c373e5c

The NFL’s increasing success with regular-season games played in London has convinced the league that a franchise based there could become a reality soon.
And during an interview with NFL Network, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell defined soon as within five or 10 years.
“We couldn’t be happier with what we’re seeing,” Goodell said. “We actually couldn’t be more surprised by the tremendous demand for NFL football in London, in the UK in general, and frankly in Europe. So it’s not something that I think is 15 or 20 years away. It could be five or 10 years away.”
Since 1986, when the NFL began staging preseason games overseas, the league has become more aggressive with promoting its brand globally. And since it began playing regular-season games in London in 2007, the league has gone from playing one, to two, to now, this year, three regular-season contests there.
“The fans want to see more NFL football, and they want to see the real thing,” Goodell said. “They don’t want to see the ‘friendlies’ as they call them over there, which is preseason games. So we changed our strategy eight years ago and said, ‘Let’s play regular season games.’ And our clubs have responded very favorably. They’ve enjoyed the experience. So we’re anxious to do more of it. I see us continuing to play more games there, to focus on our television coverage there and expanding that, our other business efforts including licensing and sponsorship.”
Goodell did not say whether the NFL team that would be based in London would be relocated from an existing league city or an expansion club.