The National Football League (NFL) says it is committed to playing the long game with its international strategy as it works out how to convert growing interest in American football into a genuine global following.
After decades of building an extraordinarily lucrative domestic business, the NFL sees its biggest untapped growth opportunities beyond its home market.
"We believe that the next 50 million fans will not come from the United States. They will come from international markets," Gerrit Meier, managing director and head of NFL International, told Reuters.
The NFL is embarking upon a record nine-game international schedule across four continents and seven countries, starting with the Los Angeles Rams' season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne next week, Australia's first taste of American football's elite competition.
The league wants to turn games into annual events in the host countries and avoid one-off contests that produce a spike in interest only for it to fade quickly when the circus leaves town.
