Exclusive By Twm Owen
Cardiff is a “viable option” for staging an NFL game, the American Football league’s UK operation has said.
The league will hold three games in London in autumn 2018, including its first at Tottenham’s new stadium, and the coming season will be the 11th year in succession at least one regular season NFL game has been played in London.
Three former Super Bowl winners were in Cardiff this week as part of the NFL UK Live promotional tour.
Chicago Bears Super Bowl champion Shaun Gayle, Dallas Clark, who won the 2006 NFL title game with the Indianapolis Colts, and Denver Broncos Super Bowl 50 winner, Emmanuel Sanders, attended the sold-out event which attracted 600 fans to Cardiff City Hall.
The retired and current players, including Washington Redskins star Josh Norman, gave an insight into playing in the league and also took part in on-stage competitions with fans at the Thursday, January 18 roadshow.
Cardiff’s 74,500 capacity Principality Stadium has previously been touted as a potential venue should the NFL wish to move UK games outside of London and NFL UK has previously said the stadium is capable of hosting a game.
NFL UK confirmed to Dai Sport it has held discussions with stadium owners the Welsh Rugby Union and is aware of the potential supporter base but has no plans at present to play in Cardiff.
It said in a statement: “We have spoken in the past to the WRU about staging games in Cardiff and are aware of its world-class stadium and the support we could expect from the city. There are no current plans to stage a game in Cardiff, but it remains a viable option should we decide to expand beyond London.”
The NFL currently has agreements to play regular season games at Wembley Stadium until 2020 and a 10-year deal, starting this year, to play games at the new Tottenham stadium which has been designed to accommodate American Football and its large playing squads.
It has also played games, in 2016 and 2017, at Twickenham though no games are scheduled at the home of English rugby for the 2018 season.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, who Sunday take on defending Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game to determine which will progress to February’s Super Bowl LII (52), have played one of their eight regular season home games at Wembley every year since 2013.
They will continue to play a ‘home’ game in London until 2020 and face a potential Super Bowl rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles, who face the Minnesota Vikings in their own NFC Championship game on Sunday, at Wembley in October.
The league has previously said it believes London could support its own franchise which would mean at least eight regular season games being staged in the UK every season.
The Jags, who are owned by Fulham owner Shahid Khan, have been touted as likely candidates for relocation though the businessman has said he has no plans to move the team.
But speaking to Dai Sport in Cardiff former Colts tight end Clark said basing a team in the UK would present several challenges that would need to be overcome if it could meet NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s test of a London team being able to punch its weight.
Clark said: “I think Goodell has always been very open about this and his concern is they need to be competitive. I think logistically, it would just be a logistic nightmare, to try to figure out. Do you do a couple games in the States, and have people stay there? I mean, I think it’s do-able but I just think you’re asking a lot from an organisation, from players, from young players, from free agents.
“If you’re a free agent and you’re hanging out here, sometimes you get cut, then you get signed, now you’re living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, it’s just away from home.”
NFL players can be cut from their contracts at a moment’s notice but sought after free agents can command multi-million-dollar salaries. Clark agreed a reported $4.5m a year contract extension with the Colts in 2008 who secured his long-term future in Indiana by making him the NFL’s highest paid tight end.
Clark paused before answering “yes” when asked if a London-based side would struggle to attract marque free agents. He said however he believes players would still be attracted to crossing the pond.
“I think there’s enough players and enough talent that would see the plus sides, much like the league is looking at seeing the plus side of having a team in London,” said Clark.
The 10-year NFL veteran has also worked with the NFL Undiscovered programme which aims to identify potential NFL players from outside the United States who haven’t been exposed to the US collegiate system from which nearly all the league’s players are drawn.
Among those to have benefited from the scheme is former rugby sevens player Alex Gray, the first English professional rugby union player to join the NFL.
The 26-year-old product of the Newcastle Falcons rugby academy, who also played for London Irish, spent last season with the Atlanta Falcons under an initiative that allowed teams in the AFC South division to sign an international player as an extra member of their non-playing practice squads.
Gray was this week signed by the Atlanta Falcons having honed his skills at the tight end position with Clark. The former back-rower, who turned to American Football after injury cost him a chance of earning a place in Great Britain’s Olympic sevens team, impressed the NFL veteran who has backed his bid to earn a place in the league and pass August’s final cut.
“I worked with him this past summer in Florida and he’s an unbelievable kid. He is an unbelievable talent and his upside is great attitude, great hard-worker, an awesome guy,” said Clark.