Does the NFL have to Succeed Internationally To Fix Domestic Problems?

To most Americans, football is a part of life in one way or another.

For some young kids, it is their way of life playing on a junior team or throwing a ball around with friends after school.

For others, their high school and university days were highlighted by football games alongside their peers, cheering on their team.

For most, however, their relationship with football is supporting the hometown NFL team and watching the Super Bowl with their family.

With 32 teams spread across the United States, the NFL is the pinnacle of American football, completely dominating the space domestically and internationally.

It is followed by countries like Germany, Mexico, Australia, and South Korea.

The NFLs Domestic Challenges However, the glitz, glamor, and halftime shows can arguably be considered a distraction from several problems in the league.

For decades, the NFL has had many PR crises.

One of their biggest problems is player safety and health.

Given the nature of the sport, head, spinal, and muscle injuries are horrifically common.

The average length of a career for an NFL player is only 3.3 years short compared to other professional athletes, who typically play for about 5-7 years.

Arguably, the most problematic injuries are head injuries.

For many years, these were dismissed as simple concussions, but we now know they are incredibly traumatic and life-altering.

One of the most controversial problems facing the NFL is its own norms and history.

One side of this is the treatment of players, who not only face injuries daily, but have also dealt with homophobia, racism, and toxic machismo.

The first active player to come out as gay, Carl Nassib, did not do so until 2021 .

When he did, the Las Vegas Raiders were inundated with homophobic messages, and Nassib received death threats.

While over half of the players in the NFL are African American, when they tried to take a knee in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protestors, many were suspended or forced from the League.

Finally, there have been calls for teams to change their names for years as current ones have negative origins.

Such examples include the Kansas City Chiefs and the Washington Redskins, who did listen to critics and changed their name to the Washington Commanders.

These all culminate in the NFL losing fans and cultural respect.

Viewer Engagement Issues Another problem facing the League is viewer engagement.

While being a hometown fan of a team is common, tuning in every Sunday or Monday for a game during the regular season is less so.

While the NFL does share some of its profits across the teams, it is not enough to ensure that they all operate at the same level.

Financial disparity and lower viewership mean some teams struggle to make ends meet.

While these problems seem insurmountable to some, others have realized that the only course of action is to find creative solutions.

For most of its existence, the NFL never looked outside the borders of the USA, but many argue that one solution is to stop being isolationist and look abroad.

In some ways, this has been easy.

One example is the new international interest in the Chiefs after Taylor Swift began dating tight end Travis Kelce.

Her global appeal and stardom brought people to the team who had never watched football before and their viewership, merch sales, and revenue skyrocketed.

The Super Bowl also serves a similar purpose, bringing in viewers who may not be invested in either team, but love the spectacle and performance.

The NFL also realized it needed to capitalize on its fans abroad and bring the sport to them.

Therefore, the NFL started scheduling season games in cities all over the world, including the UK, Mexico, and Germany.

These games allowed fans and expats to see the game played liveand not just on TV or via sports betting site live streams.

By working with broadcasters and franchises abroad, the NFL hopes to find new fans and maybe replace those who left in protest, therefore helping secure new appeal and revenue.

Can International Success Fix Domestic Issues? So, if they succeed in exporting the sport, does this mean that the NFL gains back some ground it lost domestically? Maybe.

More revenue is always helpful.

The only question is how they will use the money.

Suppose they invest in local teams, build safety protocols, and provide inclusion training.

In that case, it can be argued that bringing in international money and attention can fix their domestic problems.

However, if they focus too much on the global options, they may fail to fix the problems at home.

It is a balanced game, and the NFL must be incredibly careful not to alienate their American fandom.

Moving forward, the NFL would benefit from a cautious approach.

It will never be a favorite sport abroad, and is aware of this.

However, attracting international attention will help build external revenue streams, which can, in turn, help with their internal problems of safety, inclu.

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