Now that the NFL, the richest sports league in the world, sits unchallenged atop American sports, that lofty perch raises its own questions: How can you sustain growth and popularity without falling prey to complacency—or greed? How do you further grow a successful league while fending off platform decay and lawsuits? What threats are out there, and what are the league’s tactics to defang them? What are some unchartered territories for the league? In its annual NFL preview, Sportico analyzes how the NFL handles life as a monopoly. Click here to read the series.
It’s hard for Bernhard Seikovits to pinpoint exactly how much American football has grown in popularity across his native Austria over the past decade, but the former Arizona Cardinals practice squad player has observed quite the shift. “I do feel like no matter where you go, especially in Central Europe, people know about the NFL and certain players,” he said.
Now, Seikovits is eager to find out just how much people care about the sport in another part of the world. After finishing a championship-winning season with his professional club—the Vienna Vikings in the American Football League of Europe—on Sunday, the 29-year-old tight end is headed East to join the IBM Big Blue team in Japan’s X-League for the second half of their season.
