New Twist on an Old Story

There's is no sports story more tired in Toronto than the NFL story.

Other than Paul Godfrey, no one has really ever seemed to believe there was a reason why the NFL would want to be in Canada or, specifically, why it would allow an existing team to move north of the border.

Expansion, however, is a different story.

Particularly when you're dealing with a new commissioner, a commissioner whose No. 1 job is coming up with ways to make obscenely rich NFL owners even richer.

And how many options does the new man, Roger Goodell, really have?

Expansion, of course, has always been a favorite revenue tool for leagues uncertain where to turn.

The NFL, you have to believe, will expand one day beyond it's current 32 teams. It's going to try to go somewhere, maybe adding over time another four teams.

Why? Well, for starters, because it can.

The NHL has too many teams now and too many that can't sell tickets. The NBA doesn't have enough big men to go around now. Major League Baseball, which hasn't expanded since 1998, doesn't have enough pitching to feed it's teams.

The NFL, on the other hand, has a bottomless pit of football talent from which to draw.

And if Goodell is looking for ways to impress his bosses, stuffing some quick, easy money in their jeans is the easiest way.

The TV world is becoming more fractured by the day, it's space invaded by the Internet and technology that allows fans to skip annoying commercials.

Expansion, on the other hand, is a tried and true way to make money.

The franchise fee for the Houston Texans in '02 was $700 million, so you have to believe the next round will cost $1 billion or more.

So two teams at $1 billion would provide a quick $60 million injection of cash to the current 32 teams.

Even to the NFL, $60 million is big money.

That's how you keep Jerry Jones happy if you're Goodell. Not by moving existing teams. That doesn't make any money for the franchises already in place.

So it's no surprise Goodell is talking expansion, and no surprise he's mentioning Mexico and Canada because he needs as many suitors as possible.

That's how a $1 billion franchise fee could turn into $1.5 billion. Or higher.

Then it becomes a question of which cities are willing to pony up the dough.

Could one of those be Toronto? Well, if nobody else wants to pay, you betcha.

 

Comments

[Trev]

Oh God, not again.

Not unrelated, in 1992, a friend of mine and I had a wager as to which would happen before the other: The Leafs winning the cup, or an NFL team in Toronto.

I bet the former, and am still confident in said bet.

[Mike]

If it is true that there are not enough quality big men in basketball for expansion and not enough quality pitching in baseball for expansion then I don't see how there would be enough quality quarterbacks in football for expansion...........the NFL doesn't have enough good QB's currently and they won't be taking any from the CFL anytime soon because the QB's in that league are worse than they have been in a long time.

[chris]

You can never go wrong underestimating rich folks in the U.S. trying to land an NFL team for their city. And you can bet your last dollar that they will land an NFL team for their little backwater town before Toronto ever does.

And, even on the outside chance that Paul "The Weasel" Godfrey's wet dream comes true, an NFL team in Toronto would only be supported by the super rich of the city as they are the only ones who would afford tickets to the games.

[Rick Norman]

I too made a bet in the early 90s that the NFL would not be in Toronto by the turn of the century. I've won the bet but have yet to collect because the loser of the bet - like the NFL - is nowhere to be found. My take on the NFL issue is that because of the nature of the NFL season - you only have to fill the park eight times a season - unlike baseball - which requires 81 home dates, the NFL does not need a major metro area like the GTA. Until cities like Little Rock, Arkansas get their own franchise, expansion will not go to Canada or a state senator will lose his job for allowing it to happen