City Of London News & Rumors

London Discussions Continue To Progress

June 4th, 2016 at 4:41pm CST by Sam Robinson

A long-discussed future endeavor, the NFL slotting a franchise in London appears to be still on the minds of the league’s decision-makers. But the specifics of such a progression now have taken an interesting turn.

At last week’s owners meetings in Charlotte, the subject of a London franchise became a key talking point, enough so that several owners, according to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora, are “more convinced than ever” that the league bigwigs want this to happen.

The last news coming out of the NFL-to-England front came during Roger Goodell‘s pre-Super Bowl press conference, with the commissioner wanting to expand the London itinerary beyond three games. But at the latest owners summit, the owners discussed numerous details about the prospect of a London franchise, La Canfora writes.

Subjects like the prospect of convincing coaches to move to London or attracting free agents were broached, along with how employees would be paid. While unlike anything close to the type of expansion the NFL has seen, La Canfora categorizes these seemingly key issues as labor matters that wouldn’t serve as deal-breakers.

However, the major point of contention that came up in Charlotte stemmed from what would happen if the London team qualifies for the playoffs.

Illustrating perhaps how far these talks have gone, the league is concerned about that prospect and the opponent being from the Western part of the United States. Teams in recent years received byes coming out of their complex travel requirement to the United Kingdom — although the Colts won’t receive said luxury this season — and the Grenwich Mean Time Zone resides eight hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone. With post-week byes not existing during the playoffs’ initial two rounds, that could pose another deterrent to a London franchise formulating.

“That was the thing they seemed to have the most difficulty figuring out,” a team exec who closely watched the North Carolina session told La Canfora. “They aren’t sure how to handle that from a competitive standpoint, but judging from how (Mark Waller, the head of the NFL international arm) spoke about, it’s definitely something they are spending a fair amount of time working on.”

In speaking to teams on how best to handle this as-of-now hypothetical instance, La Canfora hears the idea of giving the road team the option of playing the game a few days early or a few days after the usual weekend date may be the eventual scenario.

La Canfora notes that these ideas becoming relevant to the actual schedule are years away, but with the NFL condensing its London slate to resemble a mini-regular season this October for European fans and expanding to a second site in Twickenham Stadium, this prospect continues to gain steam.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

Extra Points: Manziel, Schwartz, London

February 6th, 2016 at 5:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Long thought to be Johnny Manziel‘s career lifeline, the Cowboys may not have been interested in the embattled quarterback at all, Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Team sources told Hill the Browns quarterback who could be facing legal action for his potential role in a domestic assault wasn’t on the Cowboys’ radar even before the ex-Heisman Trophy winner’s latest off-the-field occurrence.

Hill writes the same personnel who advised Jerry Jones to pass on the polarizing Texas A&M quarterback in favor of Zack Martin are still in place. The Cowboys remain very much in search of a quality backup quarterback, but Manziel doesn’t fit that profile and appears to be a non-starter in Dallas.

The Browns are expected to cut Manziel before the new league year begins.

Here’s the latest from around the league.

The NFL’s tri-annual showcases in London continue to generate buzz on a franchise spawning in the United Kingdom’s biggest city, and Roger Goodell isn’t doing anything to squelch that notion. “We are considering playing more games in the U.K. It’s a balancing act with our schedule. … As far as a franchise, let’s continue to grow. Let’s continue to see that excitement and enthusiasm, passion and support continue to develop. If it does, I think that’s a realistic possibility,” Goodell told media, via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. The obvious logistical issues remain, as London is an eight hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone, and such an expansion would be the most daring step among the four major American sports leagues.
Goodell stands in favor of the league pursuing a policy that will automatically eject players after they receive their second personal foul in a game, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports. “I believe that that’s consistent with what we believe are safety issues,” the commissioner told media at his yearly address, “but I also believe it’s consistent with what we believe are the standards of sportsmanship that we’ve emphasized. We should take that out of the hands of the officials.” Any rule change must be approved by at least 24 of the 32 owners. John Mara wants such a rule to be clear as opposed to a gray area regarding low-end personal fouls. “To me, it’d have to be severe enough personal fouls as opposed to something like an incidental facemask,” Mara told Maske. Following the actions of Odell Beckham Jr. and Vontaze Burfict within a span of three weeks, the league would appear to have momentum to pass legislation of this sort.
Geoff Schwartz would be hesitant if the Giants were to pursue his free agent brother Mitchell Schwartz, Paul Schwartz of the New York Post reports. The Giants are in need of a right tackle after turning to journeyman Marshall Newhouse last season, and the 26-year-old Mitchell Schwartz is arguably the best available. The Browns’ right-edge presence graded as Pro Football Focus’ sixth-best tackle this season. “I don’t know if we would get along too well playing next to each other for a while, just because of our personalities,” Geoff Schwartz said. “Maybe after a week or so, we’d kind of get tired of each other. He’s a great player, don’t get me wrong. He’s the best right tackle this year, I hope he goes somewhere and gets every cent he can get. I just don’t know if the Giants are in position to pay a right tackle eight-and-a-half-, nine-million dollars.” Geoff Schwartz stands to make $3.9MM in base salary if the Giants bring the injury-prone guard/tackle back for a third season. He does not, however, want his brother to re-sign with the rebuilding Browns. “Obviously, you want to get your money, but you want to win. You don’t want to be on a losing team. He’s had four offensive coordinators in four years. He’s had three or four GMs, three head coaches. I mean, you can’t win that way,” Schwartz said.
Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman did not activate the brakes when his Dodge Ram collided with a Honda Civic in October, injuring the other driver, according to the Seattle Times’ Lynn Thompson. Coleman, who played in a career-most 14 games for the Seahawks this season, was going 60 mph in 35-mph zone at the time of the crash, one that left the driver of the Honda Civic with a concussion and a broken collarbone. Coleman suffered a concussion in the accident while losing his hearing aid. Coleman told police he’d smoked a form of synthetic marijuana, not illegal in Washington, an hour before the collision.

Extra Points: Goodell, Raiders, Jags, London

February 5th, 2016 at 3:23pm CST by Luke Adams

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conducted his usual pre-Super Bowl press conference today, and even though he took questions from reporters for nearly 45 minutes, he didn’t provide many noteworthy updates. Goodell did drop the occasional interesting nugget, announcing that the Raiders and Texans will play in Mexico City on November 21, and revealing that he has recommended to the competition committee that a player who commits two person fouls in a game is automatically ejected.

When it came to questions about the NFL’s PSI study, stadium plans for San Diego and Oakland, potential changes to the league’s drug policy, and the NFL’s investigation into Al Jazeera’s HGH allegations, Goodell declined to get into specifics, offering only general answers. According to Goodell, the PSI checks didn’t turn up any violations, the NFL wants to keep the Chargers and Raiders where they are, the league doesn’t expect any marijuana-related policy changes, and the HGH-allegation investigation (in conjunction with WADA and other leagues) is ongoing.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NFL:

NFLPA president DeMaurice Smith says he’s “cautiously optimistic” that the union will reach a resolution with the NFL over a change in Goodell’s role in player discipline, Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. The commissioner was characteristically evasive today when asked about that issue.
Smith also projected another $10MM boost for the league’s salary cap in 2016 (Twitter link via Stephen Holder of Indianapolis Star), and and singled out the Raiders and Jaguars as two teams that are well below the 89% cash spending floor. According to Smith (link via Barry Wilner of The Associated Press), Oakland is $41MM below the threshold and Jacksonville is $28MM below. Those teams could be active in free agency this offseason to get to the necessary level, but they don’t have to be in compliance until March 2017, so extensions next winter for 2014 draftees like Derek Carr and Khalil Mack (Raiders) or Blake Bortles and Allen Robinson (Jaguars) could do the trick.
Sheldon Adelson, the new owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has installed Craig Moon as the paper’s publisher, and Moon’s early editorial decisions have had an impact on stories about Las Vegas’ proposed stadium, according to Politco’s Ken Doctor. With Adelson hoping to lure the Raiders or another NFL team to the proposed stadium, the Review-Journal has been forced to edit or kill stories about what could turn out to be a $600MM public investment.
The NFL came close, in recent weeks, to adding a fourth London game to its 2016 schedule, a source tells Albert Breer of the NFL Network (Twitter links). However, scheduling conflicts – not to mention the challenge of finding a fourth team willing to give up a home team – forced the league to put that plan on hold.

Community Tailgate: Where Will Raiders Play?

February 1st, 2016 at 12:47pm CST by Luke Adams

As the NFL offseason nears, there are plenty of topics and storylines to discuss, and PFR’s Community Tailgate is designed to address those stories. What’s the Community Tailgate all about? Well, it’s pretty simple. We’ll highlight one of the top stories going on in the NFL. Then, in the comment section below, we want you to weigh in and let us know what you think.

Of course, while the debate may get spirited, we ask that it all stays respectful. If you need a reminder of our rules, please check out our commenting policy. Basically, we ask that you refrain from inappropriate language, personal insults, and attacks. Speaking of commenting: we’ve made it much easier to leave a comment here at Pro Football Rumors. You are no longer required to be a registered user – simply put in your name, email address, and comment and submit.

As we enter February, two of the three NFL franchises that faced major uncertainty last month have some sort of resolution for at least the short term. The Rams are heading to Los Angeles immediately and will play at the Coliseum until their brand-new Inglewood stadium is ready in a few years. The Chargers will play the 2016 season in San Diego before making a final decision on their long-term future.

The only team without any short-term certainty is the Raiders, who appear likely to return to Oakland for at least one more year, but don’t have an agreement in place to play at O.co Coliseum at this point. The stadium, which the Raiders share with MLB’s Oakland Athletics, isn’t exactly the NFL’s most impressive venue, but it’s fine as an interim home, and I expect the Raiders to play there in 2016 while the franchise considers its long-term options.

Owner Mark Davis is in the process of considering those options as we speak — Davis paid a visit to Las Vegas last Friday to meet with a group of investors proposing to build a $1 billion domed stadium near UNLV. Additionally, ideas such as the Raiders building an NFL stadium in San Antonio or sharing Levi’s Stadium with the 49ers have resurfaced in recent weeks as the Raiders mull their next move.

Of course, there are as many cons as pros for most of the Raiders’ potential homes. There’s major skepticism that the NFL would allow a team to relocate to Las Vegas, America’s gambling capital, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Texans owner Bob McNair would likely push hard to keep the Raiders out of Texas. As for sharing a stadium with the Niners, Davis has shown no interest in such a partnership.

Los Angeles is a possibility for the Raiders, but only if the Chargers ultimately decide to pass on a partnership with the Rams, and Davis would still have to reach his own agreement with Stan Kroenke in that scenario. If the Chargers head to L.A. in 2017, San Diego could be in play for the Raiders, though there’s some uncertainty about how the NFL and Chargers owner Dean Spanos would feel about that possibility.

London and Toronto have frequently been cited as potential homes for NFL franchises as well, though there’s no indication that Davis has explored international options yet. St. Louis, having just lost the Rams, would appear on the surface to be a logical match, but Davis has said he’s not considering St. Louis, and mayor Francis Slay doesn’t appear interested in pursing another team.

Oakland may be the best home for the Raiders in both the short- and long-term — Mayor Libby Schaaf expressed optimism for that outcome during an appearance on KTVU on Sunday night, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk details.

According to Florio, Schaaf hopes to secure a renewal of the Raiders’ lease at O.co Coliseum and then move on to negotiations on a “permanent, beautiful home for those Raiders.” That’s easier said than done though, and so far none of the discussions between the Raiders and the city of Oakland have resulted in any sort of viable stadium plan. It’s not clear whether the NFL committing an extra $100MM to the project will change that.

What do you think? Should the Raiders do everything they can to make it work in Oakland, or is there another city that makes more sense for them? Where do you think the Raiders will ultimately end up, and where do you think they should end up?

76ers Owners Interested In London NFL Franchise

December 10th, 2015 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

The NFL has repeatedly maintained that having a franchise in London, England is something that remains in the league’s long-term plans. For now, the NFL appears content to increase the number of individual contests played per season in the U.K., but as that schedule expands, the league will get a better idea of whether it’s feasible to play games on consecutive weeks in London stadiums, and how it’ll work to have a team play back-to-back games overseas.

With that in mind, Philadelphia 76ers owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer are hoping to become the owners of the first NFL franchise in London, sources tell Mitch Lawrence of Forbes. According to Lawrence, the owners of the NBA’s last-place team have become major investors in the Crystal Palace Football Club in London to get to know the market and to get a footing in London. Eventually, the duo wants to make a bid to own an NFL expansion team in London.

The idea of getting an expansion team in London is easier said than done. In addition to all the roadblocks the NFL has to work through to determine whether it’s feasible to have one of its franchises play eight home games overseas, it’s not clear if the league is actually interested in expanding. The Jaguars have begun playing one home game per year in London in an attempt to create an overseas fanbase, and if the NFL decides to put a team in London, it may make more sense for Shad Khan‘s franchise – or another club – to relocate, to avoid expanding the league beyond 32 teams.

In any case, Harris and Blitzer seem to be devoting plenty of time, money, and effort to assessing the London market with an eye toward eventually owning an NFL team there. As they shift their focus overseas, their ownership in the NBA’s 76ers may become less of a priority, as Lawrence writes.

“They’re more interested in getting the NFL in London than they are in the NBA,” a source tells Lawrence. “Their No. 1 goal is to get the NFL team in London. They want to flip the Sixers anyway.”

The NFL, of course, is focusing on Los Angeles relocation in the short-term future, so there’s unlikely to be any progress on this situation anytime soon. But it looks like one worth monitoring in the coming years.

La Canfora’s Latest: McDermott, Lions, Kroenke

November 29th, 2015 at 10:50am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s take a look at some of the latest notes and observations from CBS Sports scribe Jason La Canfora:

Both La Canfora and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com have delved into some of the most notable names who will be connected to head coaching vacancies this offseason. Rapoport mentions Bears OC Adam Gase, Patriots OC Josh McDaniels, Jaguars offensive line coach Doug Marrone, and Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable as veterans of the head coaching interview circuit who will be generating plenty of buzz this offseason. Other less familiar candidates who have also piqued the interest of teams around the league include Panthers coordinators Mike Shula (offensive) and Sean McDermott (defensive), and Bills RB coach Anthony Lynn (all Twitter links). La Canfora explores the case for McDermott in more detail, noting that Carolina’s defense under McDermott’s watch has been among the league’s best for some time, but given the Panthers’ success this season, McDermott has been getting more attention around the league. La Canfora says it would not be a surprise if McDermott met with four to six teams during wildcard weekend, which is likely to be a bye week for the Panthers. Per La Canfora, a team that hires McDermott would do well to add current Chargers head coach Mike McCoy as its offensive coordinator. McCoy is rumored to be on his way out of San Diego at the end of the year, and he and McDermott share a “mutual admiration” for each other. The addition of McCoy would also help to alleviate concern regarding McDermott’s abilities on the offensive side of the ball.
La Canfora also has a look at potential candidates for the Lions GM job, noting that the team may have difficulty courting some of its top choices given the questions concerning team ownership and the fact that new team president Ron Wood is an unknown commodity in football circles. However, the Lions’ resurgence in recent weeks, the talent on the roster, and the fact that the club has a history of “unwavering loyalty” to its front office executives could allow the team to nab a prized candidate. Those candidates include names like Seahawks pro personnel director Trent Kirchner, Packers player personnel director Eliot Wolf, Patriots director of pro scouting Bob Quinn, and Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta. Of those names, Quinn may be the most likely option, considering that Wolf and DeCosta are both fairly comfortable in their roles as GM-in-waiting for their current clubs, and Kirchner will be the top candidate for a number of teams.
If Stan Kroenke‘s plan to move the Rams to Los Angeles falls though, La Canfora identifies several other options for the St. Louis owner. The league knows that if Kroenke loses out to the Chargers and Raiders in the race to LA, it would have to work actively to find other solutions for Kroenke, with London and Denver representing two such solutions. Kroenke–who remains focused on LA at the moment and has not actively considered any alternatives–has business interests in England and owns Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. Colorado, meanwhile, serves as Kroenke’s base, and his family owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. La Canfora’s sources indicate that Kroenke could purchase the Broncos at some point down the road–La Canfora writes that team ownership will be in flux when Pat Bowlen passes on–and sell the Rams to an investor looking to keep the team in St. Louis. However, Broncos Vice President of Public Relations Patrick Smyth took to Twitter shortly after La Canfora’s report, tweeting that the plan is to keep ownership of the Broncos in the Bowlen family.

NFL To Play Games At Twickenham Stadium

November 3rd, 2015 at 9:46am CST by Luke Adams

The NFL continues to add more games to its upcoming London slate, with Chris Lehourites of The Associated Press reporting that the league will begin playing games at Twickenham Stadium, the home of England’s national rugby team, during the 2016 season. The NFL has since confirmed the agreement with the Rugby Football Union.

The partnership is for three years, and it’s a good bet that if it goes well, the two sides will extend it beyond 2018. For now, the NFL is scheduled to play one game per season at Twickenham Stadium from 2016 through 2018, though the agreement gives the league the opportunity to stage two additional games there over that period.

“We are committed to continuing to grow our sport in the UK and believe that adding Twickenham Stadium to our roster of host venues in London is further evidence of that commitment,” said Mark Waller, the NFL’s executive vice president of international, in a statement. “We are very excited to give our fans the opportunity to enjoy NFL action at another world-class venue famous for attracting loyal and passionate fans from across the globe.”

In addition to the games at Twickenham Stadium, the NFL will also play at least two games per season at Wembley Stadium through at least the 2020 season, and will begin playing at least two games per year at Tottenham’s new soccer stadium in 2018.

In 2018 then, there will be at least five London games on the NFL’s schedule, with a good chance for more. The league has also indicated a desire to play games in countries beyond the U.K., such as Mexico and Germany, as early as next season.

NFL, Jaguars Extend Wembley Stadium Deal

October 22nd, 2015 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

A little over two weeks after the NFL announced that it’s extending its international series through 2025, the league confirmed today that games will be played at London’s Wembley Stadium through at least the 2020 season. As part of the agreement, the Jaguars will continue to play at least one game a year at Wembley through 2020.

According to the NFL’s announcement, the league will also have the option to extend the current deal another five years, through 2025. The Wembley agreement will eventually overlap with the NFL’s deal with a new Tottenham stadium, which is on track to host two games per year beginning in 2018. Once that stadium opens, the league will play at least two games per season at Wembley, and another two on the Tottenham field.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan, who hinted earlier this week that an announcement of this nature was coming on Thursday, would have liked to extend his team’s deal for London games beyond 2020, but said five years “is what the NFL wanted” for now, according to Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union (Twitter link).

“Our four-year London initiative has been every bit as rewarding as we anticipated, certainly due in large part to the league’s commitment to the UK and the world class experience that Wembley Stadium has provided the Jaguars, our fans and our partners,” Khan said in a statement. “Our interest in extending our agreement to play a home game each season in London is nothing new. So, we’re very happy to make it official today. This is great news for the Jaguars and the stability of the team in Jacksonville, which has come to embrace London as our home away from home.”

When the NFL first announced the extension of its international series earlier this month, the league indicated that it would explore playing games beyond the UK, perhaps as early as next season. Per O’Halloran (via Twitter), the league is currently focused as Mexico and Germany as the top two countries that could host games within the next few years.

Extra Points: Canton, London, Purifoy

October 21st, 2015 at 7:52pm CST by Zachary Links

Canton, Ohio – home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – recently submitted an application to host the NFL Draft in either 2019 or 2020, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. It’s not immediately clear if Canton would host the draft in the Hall of Fame Village or at the aging Canton Civic Center or somewhere else, but the Hall of Fame is likely looking for a major event to bring attention and traffic to it’s ongoing renovation project. “I can’t guarantee it’s going to happen,” HOF president David Baker said. “But we’re gonna fight awful hard for this thing.”

Here’s more from around the NFL:

The NFL is in London this week and the league is considering some interesting ideas involving the budding market, as Albert Breer of NFL.com reports (Twitter links). One idea would have one team play two games there next year in back-to-back weeks. If one team does play two games in UK in ’16, Breer adds that they probably wouldn’t give up two home games. That team, he writes, could play one or both games as the away team.
Free agent defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy is now suspended for the first 14 weeks of the regular season, according to The Houston Chronicle’s Aaron Wilson (via Twitter). Purifoy was already suspended for 10 games, so Purifoy ostensibly has gotten another four weeks tacked on. The impetus for the increased ban is not known at this time.

Latest On Los Angeles

October 8th, 2015 at 3:21pm CST by Zachary Links

Sources have suggested to Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News that Rams owner Stan Kroenke might simply go back to the Edward Jones Dome on one-year leases and turn attention to Toronto or London. Alternatively, if the Chargers and Raiders move to Los Angeles, the Bay Area and San Diego could be markets he considers as a new home for the Rams. It’s not immediately clear if an international move or relocation to Oakland or San Diego is a consideration for Kroenke. I’m personally skeptical of the probability of those ideas, they are interesting to note as the race to Los Angeles continues.

Here’s more on L.A..

Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters, including Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) that he’s encouraged by the fact that there are two possibilities for how to enter the L.A. market at this time. Right now, those two plans are ostensibly the Rams‘ proposed project in Inglewood and the joint Chargers/Raiders plan for Carson, Calif.
While those are the two competing plans at this time, a source tells Bonsignore (Twitter link) that there seems to be a lot of pressure to put the Rams and Chargers in a room together. Due to financial constraints, many have wondered if the Raiders could wind up getting squeezed out.
The NFL’s return to Los Angeles seems both inevitable and hugely complicated, James Bell of USA Today writes.

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