NFL could have sold THREE MILLION tickets for Bucs-Seahawks game in Munich, says chief

It doesn’t take Brett Gosper long to bring Germany’s passion for the NFL to life.

The Australian, who was appointed Head of Europe and the UK in January 2021, has spent nine years expanding the global appeal of an established sport as CEO of World Rugby.

Today, his job is continental growth – a task made easier by the love of the sport at the NFL’s historic European home.

“It is ubiquitous in Germany. When I visit, I always get the feeling you’re talking to the taxi drivers about NFL — but not quite here,” says Gosper from the NFL’s London office.

‘As a sport, it can itch that other sports in that market don’t have. Rugby is not a big game in that market – there is no other contact sport.

“There are many professional sports in England, from cricket to rugby, to football and so on. And NFL is still finding its way into that competitive landscape.

“But in Germany there just seems to be a greater opportunity to get in and occupy a space that might not be occupied by someone else.”

England was the NFL’s bridgehead for international expansion until and after the first regular-season game held at Wembley in 2007.

By the end of October, the capital will have played host to 33 match-ups at Wembley, Twickenham and the sport’s home from home, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The NFL will soon be ticking off another stadium as it expands into mainland Europe. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have now opened an office in Germany and will play against the Seattle Seahawks at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena on November 13.

Brett Gosper is tasked with expanding the NFL’s reach in the UK and across Europe

“These games are in high demand in Europe, especially in Germany given the novelty factor,” added Gosper.

‘There were 800,000 people in line for one game of football. Ticketmaster said they had never seen anything like it. They extrapolated that according to our analysis, according to our analysis you could have sold three million tickets – in fact 500,000 more than a Rugby World Cup! It’s a big, big, big question.’

While Tottenham Hotspur is a purpose-built NFL stadium – complete with retractable pitch, gigantic dressing rooms and luxurious hospitality – the Allianz Arena had to undergo a mild facelift over the summer.

“Bayern has been a really good partner to help us prepare that stadium. They let us tinker with their pitch and stadium – we’ve had to extend the pitch to make sure the runout is deep enough for players’ safety.

“It just adds grass to the back so that the run-offs in the end zone are long enough to give the players stopping space. It’s not a huge expansion, but some work has been done to expand it by a few feet.

“We also redesigned some of the changing rooms to get the right space, the right number of showers and so on.”

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Germany will play at least one game per season for the next four years, alternating between Frankfurt and Dortmund. Are there grand designs to play in another European cathedral, such as the Bernabeu or Nou Camp?

“There are currently no plans for that,” says Gosper. “But the NFL is talking to a lot of stadiums in Europe, whether it’s about possible preseason games — it’s good to know who’s ready to play a game and who’s interested under what conditions.

‘To maintain that understanding, we have a constant dialogue with a number of stadiums. Whether in France, Spain, other markets and so on. It is never excluded to also go to a place like Spain or France. Of course we don’t have the inventory at the moment, but maybe that will come in the future.’

Although the enthusiasm for the German market is great, Gosper wants to underline the commitment to London.

In 2018, the NFL signed a 10-year deal to play at least two regular season games at Tottenham and the Jacksonville Jaguars added to that by continuing to play one game at Wembley over the next three years.

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“I really think Tottenham is home because our international base is in London. It was purpose built, we have a 10-year contract with Tottenham. It is a strong, long-term partnership. It is the only purpose-built NFL stadium in Europe.

‘Do I see us building such a deep relationship in the near future as in any other market in Europe? No.

“Yes, we have a good cooperation with Bayern now, but that is over a shorter period of time and it is also in addition to the relationship that we now also have under contract with Frankfurt.”

What about the f-word before he leaves? Talk of a franchise moving to London has died down in recent years and Gosper is realistic about the odds.

“We’d like to see that happen. A lot needs to be done to make that happen. But the most important thing that needs to happen is for an owner to see his future in a different market than the one he is in. Until someone raises their hand for that, it’s very hard to seriously evaluate that,” he says.