5 Reasons The NFL Should Play Games In Mexico Instead Of England

An NFL regular season game will be played in Mexico for just the second time ever this coming Monday when the Oakland Raiders take on the Houston Texans. While the NFL has agreed to play games in London, England for quite some time, Commissioner Roger Goodell may want to rethink his international options.

Here are five reasons why the NFL should consider playing games in Mexico rather than Europe.

1. Geography

This is the most obvious reason of all. Mexico is obviously connected to the United States, but more importantly, it’s connect to three states that have an NFL team. Those three states being Texas, Arizona and California, which have a combined seven NFL franchises. On the other hand, California is more than 5,000 miles away from Wembley Stadium in England. How many players want to continue to make that trip? Essentially, numerous teams are traveling more than 10,000 miles to play 60 minutes. Even teams on the East Coast don’t have it east flying over the Atlantic Ocean.

2. Proven Market

In all fairness, games in England have done fairly well. Fans on the East Coast have watched, even if a wide majority of the games are featuring the Jacksonville Jaguars. But the NFL has done well when it’s ventured into Mexico in the past when it comes to preseason and regular season games. According to ESPN, 28 million people in Mexico are identified as NFL fans. That alone is about half all of England’s population. Television viewership is also on the rise in Mexico, especially for games showcasing the Dallas Cowboys, Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders.

3. Time

This is a huge issue, and the worst part about is there’s no way to fix it for Europe. If a game is being played in London at 4 p.m. that means games on the East Coast of the United States will be televised at 11 a.m. That’s not bad, right? Hold on a second. That would mean that games on the West Coast are airing at 8 a.m., hardly a convenient time for football fans. The time difference between the West Coast of the United States and London is approximately eight hours, making it very difficult for scheduling. Mexico is equivalent to central U.S. time so this wouldn’t be an issue.

4. Bigger Audience

Soccer has and will always be king in Mexico City, but that same premise goes for London as well. The difference is Mexico has a higher ceiling than London because of its convenient proximity and higher population. As a whole, Mexico has more than twice as many people as England, and you would be surprised at how many of them are NFL fans who watch the games every Sunday. Yes, Canada is a bordering neighbor f the U.S., but the market just isn’t there.

5. Cost

Isn’t money always the determining factor? The NFL has made money with games in London, but again, it’s coming at a high cost. London’s travel time and expenses far outweigh that of Mexico for obvious reasons. That’s not to say that Mexico should have an NFL franchise, but it’s still better than Europe for annual regular season games. Let’s also not forget the NFLPA; are they going to constantly cooperate with the owners and tolerate players spending countless hours flying overseas to another continent?