Supporters of The Minnesota Vikings team cheer at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL teams are aggressively targeting fans in the U.K. right now, that they have new market rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan base and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
LONDON (AP) — Chants of “J-E-T-S” gave way to British-accented criticism of quarterback Joe Flacco in the London sports bar where fans watched the Cincinnati Bengals cruise to victory last week.
Sebastian Randazzo is, however, optimistic. The young Englishman, who founded a Jets fan club, said interest in the NFL was “absolutely explosive”.
“Hopefully we continue to see this grow with teams making their presence known in the UK,” he said on Sunday. “It’s great for us fans.”
Half a dozen teams are aggressively targeting those fans after the NFL divulged marketing rights in the UK. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are Great Britain’s unofficial home team — and intend to maintain that status — but now they face competition.
The San Francisco 49ers signed a deal with radio station TalkSport to broadcast games. The Jets have struck a deal with the U.K. clothing brand. Charles Tyrwhitt.
They don’t just focus on London either. The Chicago Bears held youth clinics in eight cities — including Wales and Scotland — this summer. The Minnesota Vikings sent their mascot and cheerleaders to Manchester ahead of their game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“There’s a lot of upside. This is just the beginning,” said Martin Nance, Vikings executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
The Jaguars, however, aim to maintain their status as top dog. They hired an NFL executive to oversee a relaunch of their brand in the UK. The Jags have played a game in London almost every year since 2013 and will face the Denver Broncos on October 30 in the first game of a three-year deal with Wembley Stadium.
“There are other teams in the marketplace, but it’s clear that we’re doing more, we’re investing more … both from a people standpoint and a monetary investment,” said Chad Johnson, the Jags’ chief operating officer. “Just because they have the rights in the market doesn’t mean they’re committed to playing football games here … to multiple football games here.”
The jockeying intensified in the build-up to three London games in October. It’s all a result of the NFL launching its international “home market area” program. Eighteen teams have been awarded the rights — in various countries, eight in total — to five-year deals during which teams can sell sponsorships and merchandise, build their “global brands” and attract new fans.
The seven other countries are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico and Spain. Some teams have rights in more than one country, such as the Miami Dolphins with Brazil, Spain and the UK International expansion was one reason why the NFL added a 17th game to the schedule.
“These are underserved markets for us,” said Alex Chang, chief marketing officer for the 49ers, who have rights in the U.K. and Mexico. “Now that we have rights there, we can do a lot more with it. We can grow that fan base a lot more proactively. It’s really a pure upside here, but we have to invest to achieve that success.”
Teams did not disclose budgets or revenue projections, but Chang said the team has made a “huge investment” in the initiative.
The 49ers, who play in Mexico City on Nov. 21 against the Arizona Cardinals, are part owners of Premier League soccer club Leeds and plan to hold their first official “watch party” with fans in the northern city during a game this month. They canceled an earlier one after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“In this (five-year) period, we will look to play in the UK as well,” Chang said.
The Jets played in London last year and are now working closely with fan groups to create a “constant drumbeat” of activity, team spokesman Eric Gelfand said.
It is difficult to estimate potential revenue, but sports economist Victor Matheson of the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts said it is instructive to consider the success of the Premier League in the United States. The league signed a six-year deal with NBC worth more than $2 billion despite playing no regular-season games in the United States.
“The NFL would be delighted to make the same entry into the UK that the Premier League has made into the US,” Matheson said, adding that the league is looking overseas because it has “almost maxed out the US market.”
The Jags received approval in 2013 to do marketing in the UK, and the team raised the stakes with their new Wembley deal. That’s because the Jags — not the NFL — will be running the game, handling everything from catering to lucrative hospitality packages. For fans, it will look and feel like a true “home” game.
“We did take a risk,” said Maria Gigante, who left the NFL in January to become vice president of the Jags’ UK operations. “We slightly increased our fares. We embraced the fulfillment of hospitality … and exceeded our goals.”
They expect a full house of 84,000 fans. At the team’s most recent home game, a 24–0 win over the Indianapolis Colts on September 18, the attendance was less than 60,000.
Even with exchange rate fluctuations, a Wembley game is “significantly more profitable” than a game in Jacksonville, said Johnson, the chief operating officer.
The Jags have a history with Wembley, having played all but one of their eight London matches there. Jags owner Shad Khan, who also owns Premier League club Fulham, even tried to buy the stadium from the FA. The team is now spending money on capital improvements at Wembley.
There are conference calls with the NFL, and the teams work together sometimes, Gigante said, but it’s a competitive environment.
“For other teams, they’re very focused on global expansion and dipping their toes in the waters in different areas. For us, it’s about maximizing the opportunity in the UK, it’s about being Britain’s team.”
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Viktor the Minnesota Vikings team mascot poses for pictures with a team supporter at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL. teams are aggressively targeting fans in the UK now that they have new marketing rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Cheerleaders for The Minnesota Vikings NFL team pose for pictures with supporters of the team at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL- teams are aggressively targeting fans in the UK now that they have new marketing rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Cheerleaders for the Minnesota Vikings check the footage after recording a TikTok video at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL teams are aggressively targeting . fans in the UK now that they have new marketing rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Cheerleaders for the Minnesota Vikings meet supporters of the team at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL teams are aggressively targeting fans in the United Kingdom. now that they have new marketing rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Cheerleaders for the Minnesota Vikings record a TikTok video at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL teams are aggressively targeting fans in the U.K. right now. that they have new market rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
Cheerleaders for The Minnesota Vikings NFL team pose for pictures with a supporter of the team at a fan interaction event at The Brotherhood Of Pursuits And Pastimes sports bar in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022. Half a dozen NFL teams . are aggressively targeting fans in the UK now that they have new marketing rights in the country. They sign business deals and hire local media to expand their fan bases and achieve international revenue. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
