How Many International Games Is Too Much?

The international game pool is expanding again .

So they're, they're gonna vote and they they have on earth.

So they have , um.

Yeah, so they have, uh, they, they, they, they have a, a proposal on the agenda to go from 8 games to 10 games in 2027.

And just for people who know, like, like, and I know people are gonna look at that and say, well, there are 9 games this year.

That's not counting the Jaguars like having their own deal with Wembley, right?

Like, so, whatever you hear is like the NFL's official number of international games does not include that.

So we would actually not be going from 8 to 10 next year, we would be going from 9 to 11.

Now, that's assuming they max it out, right?

Like it's not saying they necessarily have to, but it gives them the flexibility to go to 11 games next year.

And, uh, I mean, this is, this is just, this is the way it's going, and I think this is another thing that's in preparation.

For going to an 18-game schedule, right, because the plan with an 18-game schedule would be to have a 16-game slate of international games where everyone would play an international game every year, and then the rhythm would be, and we've talked about this, would be one year you play 9 home games, 8 road games, neutral site, the next year it flips, and you play 8 home games, 9 road games , and a neutral site.

So.

Like, I think the, the idea, the idea, I think here is, well, we're moving closer to this anyway, and when we get to 18 games, we're gonna jump to 16.

So, if we're gonna jump to 16, we might as well start to take the incremental steps to get there.

And then the question becomes where they're gonna go, right?

Like, which is also interesting to me.

Um, I'm fascinated to see the toll that this, like, I, I just think the toll this takes on players and what this is gonna mean.

And I think like looking at like the, the Australia thing now, and the, and we talked about it on the schedule show, right?

Like, the Niners are going over to Australia, and that's a, that's actually a Friday game.

It's not a Thursday game because it's gonna be Friday in Australia.

And they have got, they gotta come back 9 days later, you know, after whatever it is.

I don't know what it would be, an 18-hour flight, 16-hour flight, whatever it is, and they gotta play 9 days later.

Like how does, what sort of toll does that take on their bodies?

And how could that affect like more games in the Far East?

So, I, my guess would be Tokyo would be on their list.

I think , you know, going elsewhere in Australia, like a Sydney would probably make sense to them.

Would they go to Hong Kong?

You know, then elsewhere in Europe, where would be the next place to go in Europe?

Now they've got Paris checked off.

Is Italy next?

You know, would something like that be the next one?

Um, and then I think the other one that I know they've at least explored is the Middle East, and that, of course, is thorny for a whole host of reasons.

Yeah, I mean, there's no shortage of in the NBA whether, you know, say what you will about them, there, there is more of a very easy global line to draw between their player base and, you know, and hockey too, right?

Um, hockey has the World Cup, you know, where, or, you know, where, wherever they have the little play tournaments and stuff like that.

The difference is all you gotta do is watch international competition and see that there are in hockey, there are a lot of countries that are very competitive with the US and Canada, and in basketball now there are a there are countries that are very competitive with the US.

That tells you all you need to know.

If, if you had a tackle football tournament, it would be an absolute bloodbath, you know what I mean.

And, and is the goal, but is the goal with all of this ultimately to create the same aesthetic like, and, and, and if so, like how do we create, well, that's why they're so pushy with flag, right, because it bypasses the infrastructure issues, the pads, the sleds, the helmet, you know, all that kind of stuff, and the infrastructure issue is massive, you know what I mean?

Like it's just, it's a really hard sport to export, you know, like it's just.

I mean, the idea, I mean, just the number of people that you need to play it, um, you know, so, like you're jumping off point isn't like playing 5 on 5, it's playing 11 on 11.

So do you have enough kids in your area that are interested in playing a game that maybe they haven't been as exposed to as they've been to soccer or basketball or any other sport.

Like how do you get the numbers to play, um, in a, in, in, in a given town and then how many other given towns or given areas have enough kids to, to give you competition.

It's really difficult and so, you know, like that's where a flag, I think, and like we've been very clear about this, both you and I, and I think we're in the same camp on this one, flag football and tackle football, you know, but, but the idea is to put a football in their hands and like that that.

will make a difference.

And I do think like having more kids participating, um, does make a very real difference in the popularity of the sport.

So, uh, here's, here's the thing, it's like I, I think like if we're talking about this big picture, it's just Domestically, how much more can they grow, you know.

So, everything in the last 15 years has been about adding inventory.

And so that's expanding the schedule, you know, that's adding new broadcast windows, that's going back to LA with two teams, and that's growing the game globally.

That's creating a product that you can sell that didn't exist previously, you know, that's adding inventory.

And so, um, I think we all, I think we know like, these owners, certainly like the ethos of the owners a lot over the last 25 years have become more business-minded.

There's more of like a private equity mindset to the way they do everything, um, you know, and there's more of a Wall Street mindset to the way that they do everything.

And, um, you know, in that world, if you're not growing, you're failing.

And so this is where they're looking for growth.

Would you rather see that though, or like really honing in on Couple of markets and adding like 4 teams in the United States like San Antonio, Saint Louis, they'll never do that though.

I like, you know why?

Because I don't know with LA filled now, I don't think there's a city in the US that they could look at and say, Yes, it's worth breaking the pie up, breaking the revenue up 34 ways instead of 32 or 36 ways instead of 32.

These guys are so , They're so honed in on the money.

You know what I mean?

Like they're so laser-focused on the money that to add teams, I think it would require like the pie growing.

This is the Jerry Jones analogy, right?

The pie growing to the point where like adding those teams did so much to grow the pie that now, OK, we're OK cutting it up 34 ways or 36 ways rather than 32.

True, it is a matter of pie consumption, and it always is, you know, especially with these guys.

I just, you know, whatever.

I, I, I'm, I'm so talked out on the international thing.

I just think that, you know, I, I don't like the time windows.

I don't like the way that players come back from these games.

I don't like the constant questions about turf quality, all that stuff.

I mean, it's just, it's frustrating, you know.

Well, it's interesting how these accommodations, you know, these games are being jammed in on Sunday now too, right?

Like the Rio game, I believe, is like on a, is that that's a late afternoon window, I believe, right?

And then I think Mexico City is a Sunday night game, right?

And they're sending better games over there now too, which is like .

I mean, a little, it shows the priority, right?

Like I don't know how I feel about Rams Niners being played in Australia.

I'm kind of with Kyle Shanahan on that one, you know, like 100% that's a big important game and like that's the sort of game that can kind of determine how your season goes and is that the game that we really want to be shipping over there just from a competitive standpoint, from a fairness standpoint, I don't know.

You can have all the Panthers, Titans you want, you know, just give me the, that's what they used to ship over there, right?

Yeah, but here's the, here, here's, here's the long and short of my argument, right?

Um, and I, I said this on the schedule release show and I'll say it again.

Like I've heard from people from every country in the world every time I say this, they're like, but you have no idea how passionate we are.

Cool.

Then you'll be passionate about Panthers Titans, you know.

Like you take what, what, what is the, uh, uh, we started saying that to our kids, you get what you get and you don't get upset, you know, and, uh, you know, I don't know.