Advertising NFL in Europe
One way the NFL would be able to expand to the European market would be to improve their advertising. One radical way we believe the NFL could globalize their product would be to put their logo on the front of a soccer teams logo. If the opportunity occurred where the NFL had an opportunity to put their logo on a major teams jersey it would expand their fan base to great extents. Soccer fans would become intrigued by the logo and find out more about the product. At the same time, the NFL would be interested in spending hundreds of millions of dollars to have many dedicated sport fans see their logos. When the Qater Foundation signed their deal with FC Barcelona, for signed a five-year, €150 million or roughly 200 million US dollars, it was the richest deal in soccer history (Yahoo! Sports). I do not think that a club as big as FC Barcelona would feel threatened to put their logo on the front of their jersey because their fan base is already so big. For example, if you saw advertisement for FC Barcelona at your favorite American football stadium, it would only grow your interest towards the new sport, but not ruin your interest in your favorite club. Also, I believe the NFL would be able to offer more than 200 million US dollars. “The NFL makes roughly $9 billion in revenue per season. Over the next decade, the league will make aguaranteed $27 billion on television contracts alone. That breaks down to about $200 million per team per year, before any tickets, parking passes, jerseys or $10 beers are sold.” (Pittsburgh Magazine) With this kind of revenue, it would make sense for the NFL to invest even more than the Qatar Foundation in an effort to globalize their game.
Advertising the NFL in Europe could be a great way to get more sports enthusiasts to start following American football. However, the idea of putting an NFL team logo on an EPL or La Liga team jersey would have poor results. First of all, the team sponsor, who is already paying an exorbitant sum of money for the same privilege would never allow an NFL team to be seen on a jersey. To go along with this is the fact that many die hard European soccer fans don't purchase jerseys. As we've learned, it is mainly foreigners who buy them (us included), and most people in this group already know about the NFL. It is an interesting concept to start advertising the NFL in Europe, but I feel there is a better way to do it than this.
ReplyDelete-Jimmy Madden
Sorry for being overly critical, I hope that didn't come off wrong. It is a valid idea to try to advertise the NFL, but an alternative method should be implemented. The European market is completely saturated with soccer, so incorporating a new sport like american football would be challenging. However, if the NFL slowly increases its presence whether it be through TV or more games abroad I think people will become more interested. Maybe hosting a majority of the preseason schedule in London or other cities could help raise awareness of the NFL. While the competition of those games is very poor, it could be a win win for players, fans, and other people with american football interests.
ReplyDelete-Jimmy Madden
I think that the NFL will have very little chance being globalized due to the fact that sports are basically during the same season. American Football is a much shorter season and gets engulfed by the popularity of Soccer. However, I do agree with you that Putting logos on the front of Jerseys like the do for european soccer will greatly increase the amount of revenue for the sport, but not not necessarily the fan base. Personally, I don't think the NFL let alone any other sport has a very good chance of greatly impacting the European sports market.
ReplyDeleteIt is okay you came off as critical, especially since it was proposed as a radical idea. THe problem with expanding through TV is that the games are at inconvenient times for people across the pond. By having a logo on a major soccer teams jersey, it will be front and center for every fan to look up and find out more information about what the sponsorship actually is.
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