NFL expansion would be a huge mistake

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The NFL will stage three games this season at London’s Wembley Stadium, something that is seen as an extended prelude to the location or relocation of a franchise in the U.K. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

The “E” word is buzzing around the NFL.

“Expansion,” that is.

The NFL so badly wants to get back into Los Angeles that there is talk that the NFL might just build a stadium on its own, or provide much of the financing for one.

Then there’s all the talk about how wonderful it would be to have an NFL team in London.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said over the weekend that he sees an NFL team playing in London within five to 10 years.

“We actually couldn’t be more surprised by the tremendous demand for NFL football in London and the U.K. in general and frankly even Europe,” Goodell said. “It’s not something I think is 15 or 20 years away, it could be five or 10 years away.”

It wouldn’t necessarily be bad to have teams in London or Los Angeles, although London presents some logistical challenges because of the five time zones that separate the eastern U.S. from London (which means six times zones for teams in Central time, seven for Denver, seven or eight for Arizona and eight for the West Coast).

But expansion would be a bad idea for the NFL because it would damage the competitive symmetry of the league.

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