nfl europe "experiment" almost voted out

By Les Pasquerelli
ESPN.com

In a vote that was closer than many had anticipated, and which reflected some strong sentiment against continuing an experiment of mixed results, owners decided Wednesday during a half-day meeting in Washington, D.C., to continue the NFL Europe league.

The vote, however, could not have been any closer and one more owner opposed to the matter would have killed off the springtime league.

On most key issues, like NFL Europe, a three-quarters vote of the league membership, or 24 of 32 votes, is required for endorsement. The NFL owners voted precisely 24-8 to continue NFL Europe for two more seasons. The league has been championed for years by commissioner Paul Tagliabue and sources told ESPN.com on Wednesday night that he had to be persuasive to retain the developmental league.

"We want to keep looking at it," said Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney. "We feel that there is still potential there on which we can build."

The membership will be asked to decide next year, entering the final season under the new business plan for NFL Europe, to extend it through 2013. There are some owners who still contend that the league, founded in 1991, can realize a profit.

But other owners remain concerned about continuing financial losses, and diminished returns in terms of player development, and told ESPN.com they question the wisdom of continuing to subsidize NFL Europe.

Support for again resuscitating NFL Europe appeared mixed when ESPN.com surveyed several owners the past few weeks. And the Wednesday vote certainly reflected that. The vote next year, on endorsing the league through 2013, could be rather contentious. There is little doubt Tagliabue and NFL Players Association executive director Gene Upshaw, who is in favor of NFL Europe, must buttress support in the coming year.

Said one opponent: "I'm just not convinced of the long-term (viability). The proponents keep telling me I'm short-sighted. Well, my vision is plenty good enough for me to see us throwing good money after something that's had 12 years to work, and hasn't."

With the NFL's three-year business plan for NFL Europe having expired, league owners recently received a memorandum detailing the benefits of overseas play, and the positives of continuing the experiment to globalize American-style football.

Some owners have become weary of investing in a product perceived as stagnant, and which has not created much ripple effect, in their minds. But the proponents of keeping NFL Europe still view as essential the potential for marketing opportunities, and at a time when there are few new revenue streams, along with expanding the NFL's scope as a true entertainment entity.

One stance that likely will not sell, at least with more pragmatic owners, is the contention that the investment in Europe might eventually produce some NFL players. In the recent memo, NFL officials pointed out that other American professional leagues have tapped into foreign-bred talent, and suggested the NFL might someday do likewise.

Countered one NFC personnel chief: "The logic there is totally skewed. Baseball, the NBA, hockey, they draw foreign players because those sports are played in a lot of other countries. But, hey, no one else plays football but us. Other countries are developing the players for those other sports. Us, we're sending players to other countries, hoping they will develop. But we could do the same thing with a springtime schedule played here."

Certainly development of high-profile players, like St. Louis quarterback Kurt Warner, has slowed. There were 257 former NFL Europe players on NFL rosters in 2002, and the number is probably similar this season, but the spring league hasn't produced as many visible stars recently as it did 3-5 years ago.

A few other owners noted the security risks involved in sending American players to Europe, but there were no reported incidents in 2002, and NFL officials feel the threat is not a particularly strong one.

 

I didn't bother to read most of that, but I have a feeling they could do more to market it here if they're that concerned about profitability. A decent tv contract in the US would do wonders for the league imo. As it is now, a couple games a year on Fox Sports and the World Bowl are all that are televised. They could really push it, also expand NFL rosters and give more exemptions to NFLE players would cultivate interest in your NFL teams' players that are in NFLE for the summer.

I really don't feel that the profitability has been fully exploited here and without trying a little harder to do so, it's ridiculous to shut it down based on profits.

Surely there's room on TV for 10 weeks of NFL style football amongst all the trash that's on anyway.

 

really wish

They could find away to get the NFL teams better linked as a whole with NFLE teams, so fans could better associate the players for their NFL teams.

 

Maybe the former Frankfurt Galaxy QB Jake Delhomme can go onto to greatness and help the league.

I honestly do not watch it as much as I probably should, but I always love the idea of a farm system outside of the NCAA. I think some players just do not get enough development in college and need a minor league pro team to continue on. I hope it sticks around...

 

I always wondered why they had to goto Europe to do it.

I'd rather watch minor league NFL than Arena ball.

 

They should try to market the NFLE games to be shown on the NFL channel that is going to be launched in Nov. Now I know that a lot of people don't get Directv, but I heard that cable companies are trying to get the NFL channel for their subscribers.

It's kind of a no brainer. NFL Channel=NFLE football games. Duh. But Tags ain't smart enough to come up with something like that.

 

Me too, on both counts.

 

How many European teams are there? They could have one division supply all the players for one team - would help the rivalries a bit.

 

How many NFL fans is the league generating in Europe? Obviously, the attendance must be low, because they're not turning a profit. However, I wonder if they are considering or even trying to discover how much NFLE is increasing sales of NFL items in Europe?

 

NFLE could be a workaround for the legalities that are forth coming. If Clarette wins his challenge, which seems VERY possible. The league could institute a rule that requires players to spend a few years in Europe before allowing them to join their stateside franchise.
Something like this could improve the marketability of NFLE and help prevent the NFL from becoming the NBA.
The NFL needs a farm system and Arena League isn't it. While I think AFL has added to the NFL in that a QB in AFL must read and react much faster than what has generally been the norm in the NFL...it's still a bastardized version of the real thing.