If you could buy non-voting shares in an NFL team, would you?

[kingm56]

Yes. I think the next 30 years will be very good to the NFL. Even the worst run franchises increase in value.

They're at the Genesis of globalization; once that occurs, the franchise values will skyrocket. I can see a paradigm where American football rivals soccer, at least in Europe.

[Bob In PA]

They're at the Genesis of globalization; once that occurs, the franchise values will skyrocket. I can see a paradigm where American football rivals soccer, at least in Europe.

king: I agree that's a significant and important factor, but we have the example of trying to sell soccer in America as a guide, IMO.  I could be dead wrong, but I don't see a lot of monetization of soccer in this country, although they've be "at it" for a couple of decades.  I do see it as a cheaper sport for schools to promote, though, and they have, and they have been IMO very successful, but getting people to watch soccer is actually losing ground.  Conversely, I believe attempts to make American football a world-wild "sensation" are more likely to fail than succeed. I'm just shootin' the breeze kinda off-the-cuff here, so it wouldn't surprise me to be proven wrong. Bob

[MightyGiants]

They're at the Genesis of globalization; once that occurs, the franchise values will skyrocket. I can see a paradigm where American football rivals soccer, at least in Europe.

Between the logistical challenge of time zones and the idea of an American prospect being drafted into the NFL and being told they need to move to another country, I am not sure how global the NFL can truly be.

There are some serious differences between soccer and football.

Soccer players come from many nations around the globe.  Football players predominately come from the US via the college system.

Soccer players come in all sizes.  NFL players need to be a larger size.  There are populations in many nations that simply are not large enough to be a realistic pool of future NFL talent.

Soccer is united by the World Cup, which generates the sort of national pride and interest that one sees in the Olympics.   The NFL is unlikely to ever develop that sort of national pride aspect

[kartanoman]

Between the logistical challenge of time zones and the idea of an American prospect being drafted into the NFL and being told they need to move to another country, I am not sure how global the NFL can truly be.

There are some serious differences between soccer and football.

Soccer players come from many nations around the globe.  Football players predominately come from the US via the college system.

Soccer players come in all sizes.  NFL players need to be a larger size.  There are populations in many nations that simply are not large enough to be a realistic pool of future NFL talent.

Soccer is united by the World Cup, which generates the sort of national pride and interest that one sees in the Olympics.   The NFL is unlikely to ever develop that sort of national pride aspect

Agreed!

Let's consider some of the other football codes, in addition to soccer.

American (gridiron) vs. Rugby: the US Women's Rugby team came out of nowhere to earn a bronze medal in the Olympics this past summer. The manner in which they accomplished it surpassed the magic of the achievement itself. A United States team earning a medal in Rugby, of all football codes??? A catalyst for national pride???

Crickets (no, not the sport). Where was the pride in that achievement? It certainly was there for those young ladies on the soccer pitch in earning their gold medals. New and young faces stepping up and getting it done with their new head coach. It was one of the best feel-good stories in the Olympics.

Neither would break squelch if your NFL team were to partake in the Super Bowl and win it. Heck, hearing all of us yelling and complaining all day about the Giants and neither football code would break it against us either!

The best chance of globalizing the NFL is to keep up the grass-roots investments they are making right now, and possibly consider subsidizing efforts to stand up youth and development leagues. They have to demonstrate long-term commitment of a few generations or it just won't work. It's no different than establishing professional soccer here in the United States from its initial blast-off point when the legendary Pele set foot in Giants Stadium and turned our whole country on to the sport (NOTE: I consider myself blessed to have had the chance to see him with my own eyes in 1977 at the Stadium, against Chicago where he scored the lone goal for the Cosmos in a 2-1 loss). The rise and fall of the NASL was like one of the Wright Brothers' first attempts to fly. Neither succeeded in the first try. So, while development programs such as AYSO, high school and college programs started taking off, plans for the US hosting the World Cup in 1994 were underway. When it finally came to pass, the world's most prestigious tournament before our very eyes, the seeds were finally planted for good and it would only be time before they would take root in the form of a Major Soccer League and lower echelon divisions to feed talent to the MLS and international teams.

Right now, professional soccer in the US doesn't come close to measuring up to professional football. But that could change if more Messi's decide to invest and grow the league, and the game, here in the US. Will the short term work out for investing in non-voting shares of NFL teams ... probably. But the future isn't written and that's where having a vision with leadership who is dedicated to fulfill that mission are the one's worth watching and, maybe, worth investing in, if you align with that vision.

Peace!