Plenty of headlines emerged when the Week 1 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers was announced this offseason. For one, it will be the first regular-season NFL game played on the continent, although Australians were treated to the American Bowl in 1999.
More importantly on a micro level, though, is that this daunting overseas trip will be contested by divisional rivals, and two potential Super Bowl contenders at that.
As it turns out, you should probably expect more of that
in the coming years.
The NFL approved a couple changes to its international scheduling rules this week. For one, the league is now allowing a maximum of 10 international games per season, up from this year’s record of nine. This is in line with the obvious push by commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL to increase the sport’s presence across the globe. Given the rumors over time that the NFL ideally wants the 17th game of the schedule to be an international tilt for everyone, this isn’t a shock.
More surprising, and potentially more impactful season to season, is what the Associated Press buried at the bottom of their story on the changes:
“The league owners also approved a resolution removing the ability for teams to protect two games on their schedule from being played internationally.”
Not only is the NFL trying to put more games in international markets, they apparently want their catalog of international games to feature more headliner teams and matchups, too.
Game protections serve an important purpose for home teams, whether it’s to keep the gate for games against team with huge traveling fan bases or to keep games with potential playoff implications in home environments.
There was an example of that just this year, with the New Orleans Saints reportedly protecting their home game against the Green Bay Packers from being their Paris matchup because they’re both NFC teams, setting up a meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the French capital instead.
It’s hard to envision this as a good thing for the NFL and its fans at large, with the exception of international fans who will now get more high-profile matchups. It’s already hard enough for the Rams this year that a crucial divisional matchup will be played overseas instead of at SoFi Stadium. But imagining losing out on the home game with the Seattle Seahawks, a potentially huge conference meeting with the Packers, or premium interconference matchups with the Kansas City Chiefs or Buffalo Bills, and having no recourse is a tough scenario.
NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said on Up And Adams this week: “That shows the importance to us, to our media partners around, making sure in these big windows and around the world, we’re showcasing incredible games.”
It’s great to want to strengthen your fan base internationally. This is greatest sport on earth, getting more people into the game is a good thing. But should that come at the cost of taking away a built-in competitive advantage for the teams themselves, like the Rams are losing this season against the 49ers?
We’re about to find out.
