The Nationwide Soccer League kicks off its first recreation in South America on Friday night time because the league pushes to extend its presence abroad.
With the NFL’s entry into the southern hemisphere, professional soccer has by no means been stronger financially. Final season, the league collected $13 billion in income, and the typical group is value about $6.5 billion, based on CNBC’s official NFL team ratings.
However because the league tries to keep up its progress, worldwide markets are a precedence.
Earlier than the league’s inaugural recreation in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell informed CNBC’s “Squawk Field” that the league goals to develop into a world sports activities property. This season, the NFL will play 5 video games abroad in Europe and South America. By subsequent season, the league will play eight matches overseas.
“The truth is once we carry our model of our regular-season video games right here, it creates a complete new surroundings,” Goodell mentioned. “It creates a spark and all the things appears to actually take off after that,” he added.
Goodell mentioned enjoying video games abroad is a studying course of because the league sees how gamers deal with lengthy flights and totally different time zones.
“When [the players] return to their hometowns tomorrow, they’re going to be in an identical time zone and eight days earlier than their subsequent recreation,” Goodell mentioned. Brazil is an hour forward of the Japanese time zone, however an 11-hour drive. “That is all is a part of studying what number of video games we will play,” Goodell mentioned.
With the NFL enjoying in locations like London, Germany and Brazil, this not solely creates new followers, but additionally helps enhance sponsorship alternatives and deepen the league’s relationships with worldwide media companions.
The league had two sponsorship offers in Germany earlier than enjoying video games there in 2022. In the present day, the NFL has 15 agreements.
The league additionally allowed groups to construct model consciousness and followers abroad by way of it Global Markets Program.
This program, now in its third 12 months, grants rights to advertising and marketing groups in different nations. This season, 25 franchises are taking part in this system in 19 worldwide markets.
Among the many offers, the Miami Dolphins have advertising and marketing rights in Argentina and Colombia; Los Angeles Rams have rights in South Korea and Japan; and the Seattle Seahawks have rights in Canada and are increasing into Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Goodell additionally spoke to CNBC concerning the NFL’s present media rights panorama and mentioned the addition of streaming choices advantages the league and its followers.
The NFL has broadcast offers with Fox, ESPN and Disney’s ABC, NBCUniversal and CBS, along with streamers YouTube, Netflix, Amazon and Peacock, all of that are valued at about $11.4 billion in 2024. Some video games are streamed completely, together with Friday’s bout in Brazil, which can air on NBC’s Peacock platform.
“Crucial factor is that you must go the place your followers are, and our followers are transferring to steam platforms,” he mentioned.
Nonetheless, Goodell mentioned 85 % of NFL video games are nonetheless out there on tv.
“We actually assume our coverage is absolutely useful for our progress, for supporting extra folks watching NFL soccer and for followers to take pleasure in it,” he added.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the father or mother firm of CNBC.
