DeVry University
A few of the factors to consider about U.S sports franchising abroad is relevance. Is the sport or is this team relevant to where ever they are being relocated? The main reason you see the N.F.L. when they play their two games a year in London, put a big name team in each game, is that many people in London couldn’t tell you anything about the Jacksonville Jaguars, or any other lesser known team.
I think the safest bet when it comes to pushing a game abroad like that would be either soccer or baseball. Another thing to consider with football, do kids on playgrounds and empty fields play the American version of football, or are they immersed in soccer. In the past few years, a major focus has been put on the effects of head injuries and dangers of football. “What’s been eye opening to discover is the trickle-down effect from the NFL to Youth football. High school parents and coaches and players noticed the league recently agreed to a $765-million settlement with former players who sued the NFL for hiding the effects of brain trauma” (King 22). There is a real opportunity for soccer to grow here in America. Since ESPN and NBC Sports channels have put a spotlight on international soccer, “Ratings for recent high profile matches have nearly doubled compared to just a few years ago” (Sullivan29).
Due to time zones and travel, Central America and South America are probably the places to reach. Imagine a seven game series in baseball with a team in London and a team in California that is a lot of time zone jumping and travelling to do for a series that has four games in one location and three games in the other location. Being able to stay close to the same time zones make it possible. Baseball has already expanded into Canada, where it is not exactly their national pastime. I think it could work much better south of the border now. I believe the government should be protecting industries from too much imported goods. The main reason would be jobs, when imported goods