NFL hasn't ruled out putting a Super Bowl in London: 'It's something that has been discussed'

The Super Bowl could eventually be heading overseas

After 16 years of holding games in England, the NFL is now mulling over the possibility of moving a future Super Bowl to London. 

During a fan forum that was held in London last week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked about the possibility of the English capital getting a Super Bowl and he admitted it's an idea that the NFL has been thinking about. 

"It is not impossible, and it is something that has been discussed before," Goodell said, via ESPN.com. "I think that is not out of the question."

That being said, it doesn't sound like a London Super Bowl will be happening anytime soon. For one, the next three Super Bowls are already spoken for with Las Vegas, New Orleans and Santa Clara hosting over the next three seasons. 

Hypothetically speaking, this means that London couldn't host a Super Bowl until the 2026 season at the earliest, but even that seems unlikely based on what Goodell also said: Super Bowls are going to be awarded to cities that already have franchises.  

"At the end of the day, I think right now our formula will stay the same about playing [Super Bowls] in cities that have franchises," Goodell said. 

The commissioner said if a Super Bowl in London is going to happen, it will likely happen at some point down the road. 

"I think being able to play it in one of our cities -- it's at a huge economic boost to those cities," Goodell said. "Our fans live in those cities also. I think that is important. Not that we do not have great fans here [in London]; we do. So, as the international series develops, maybe that is a possibility as we play more games here."

The fact that Goodell talked about the possibility of putting a Super Bowl in London wasn't a total surprise and that's because he's been known to share big ideas at the fan forum. In 2018, he broached the possibility of maybe putting a team in London one day. Last year, he revealed that the NFL might eventually put an ENTIRE DIVISION in Europe. However, for now, it seems that the NFL is happy with its current set up. 

For the 2023 season, the NFL scheduled three games in London with the final one being held in Week 6. The league also has two games scheduled for Germany this year. The NFL is also eyeing the possibility of playing in either Spain or Brazil as soon as next year. 

As for London, the league has been sending games to the city since 2007 and those games have been a resounding success, which is likely why the NFL is now thinking about putting the biggest game of the year there.