The NFL's international business strategy could be centered on flag football at the Olympics.

• The NFL aims to expand its international business to $1 billion annually and gain new fans.
• Over the next decade, the league anticipates drawing in 50 million global consumers.
• The push for flag football's inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles is being advocated for by the league.

The NFL aims to expand its international business to $1 billion annually and gain new fans.

First, the league must address flag football.

NFL International's chief operating officer, Damani Leech, stated that the organization aims to grow NFL flag football over the next five years.

At the NFL's annual meetings this week, Leech discussed the future of NFL expansion abroad. He stated that in the next decade, the NFL anticipates attracting 50 million international consumers, increasing its current 180 million domestic consumers and the 150 million international fans who already consume the most popular U.S. sport.

Our main focus is on that big number, according to Leech.

Here’s a look inside the NFL’s 10-year international plan.

NFL needs flag football in the Olympics

Leech emphasized the need to make the game significant when discussing the importance of expanding the sport internationally.

And to do that, the NFL needs the Olympics.

The league is advocating for the inclusion of flag football in the Summer Games because it resembles gridiron football but does not involve tackling, and participants do not need pads or helmets.

More countries will invest in flag football if it becomes an Olympic sport, according to Leech.

It wouldn’t be the first time football aimed for Olympic inclusion.

American football was featured as a demonstration sport in the 1932 Olympics but hasn't been recognized since. In 1996, Reebok attempted to bring gridiron football back into the Olympics with a commercial featuring Emmitt Smith, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The NFL could benefit from the recognition of the International Federation of American Football as a governing body by the International Olympic Committee in 2013, as it strives for inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games.

In Los Angeles during Super Bowl weekend earlier this year, Leech stated that the NFL organized a flag football game between the United States and Mexico, which included both men and women, in accordance with Olympic requirements. Casey Wasserman, the media executive who led the effort to secure the 2028 Summer Olympics for Los Angeles, was present. He was also the chair of the host committee for the Super Bowl in LA.

Wasserman Media Group's CEO is "supportive of the idea" to include flag football, but LA28 officials did not make Wasserman available for comment on the matter.

Leech stated that other LA28 officials were impressed by the speed of the five-on-five football game. The game is position-less football where everyone is a receiver and everyone is a quarterback. The speed of the game is entertaining.

The NFL has partnered with the 2022 World Games, which will take place in Alabama from July 7 to July 17. The games will feature both men and women from teams representing countries such as Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico.

Leech stated that the World Games would provide a chance to demonstrate the competitive and attractive nature of the sport to the IOC.

Lessons from NFL Europe experiment

Despite the league's efforts to influence IOC officials, Leech continues to pursue new international markets.

The NFL is expanding its presence in Canada, with 4 million "avid" fans in the country. Leech is traveling to Africa this month to explore business opportunities and establish NFL Academies for high schoolers worldwide to learn American football.

The NFL Players Pathway program was launched to attract and develop non-traditional players worldwide, including soccer players, who were targeted in March 2020 as potential NFL kickers.

Despite efforts by the NFL to expand football globally in past years, there were no substantial outcomes achieved.

The NFL established the World League of American Football in 1991, pairing domestic teams such as San Antonio and Sacramento with international clubs. However, the league folded in 1995 and was later rebranded as NFL Europe. This business eventually shut down in 2007.

The NFL is testing out playing games in Europe, with the Jacksonville Jaguars being the main focus, as they have recently approved a plan to play at Wembley Stadium in London for the next three years.

Leech pointed out that the NFL's history with spring football has helped it attract fans when discussing why the league would be successful in Europe this time.

Did the league financially succeed?" he asked. "No, but it had numerous advantages.

In the upcoming 2022 season, the NFL has planned five international games, including three contests in London, one in Germany, and one in Mexico.

In terms of viewership and consumer products, the Germany market outperforms many other markets. Despite not having played games there, the sport is being consumed by the German audience.

NFL Sunday Ticket sister property

In December 2021, the NFL granted access to teams to collect more revenue and consumer data through its International Home Marketing Areas plan. This plan allows 18 teams in 26 international territories to leverage the "commercialization" of the sport, which in turn helps fuel the league's international media asset, NFL Game Pass.

NFL Sunday Ticket is available to international fans through a package that allows them to stream live games on all platforms, including DAZN, which licenses NFL content for streaming revenue in Canada.

NFL Game Pass has 1 million paid subscribers, with 600,000 in Europe. Although European consumers don't currently pay for Game Pass, the NFL can identify them through data collection. Leech stated, "We must increase that number."

The NFL's consumer data is crucial to Fanatics, an e-commerce and memorabilia company that is partly owned by the league and has a projected $27 billion valuation with 80 million users.

The global landscape could interrupt plans

The NFL’s plans for further international expansion face several challenges.

The IOC has set forth principles for sports federations to follow before any consideration for Olympic inclusion, and the inclusion of flag football in the Olympics will be decided after the 2024 Games in Paris.

To get flag football on the Olympics' radar, the NFL must take a set of actions, according to Harvey Schiller, a former executive director of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Step one is finding more countries to play the game.

Schiller stated that the second step is to spend time with the IOC members who vote on it, which requires a significant amount of time and energy. He also emphasized that they want the best athletes involved, as they want to see players who have competed in the NFL or will compete in the future.

In Australia, the NFL would face competition from both soccer and rugby in addition to its own version of football.

The NBA aims to expand its business in India, following its successful establishment of more than $5 billion businesses in China and $1 billion in Africa.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is causing concerns among businesses about decreased globalization, which may negatively impact growth in countries with differing values from the United States.

The NFL has ceased all its business operations in Russia, resulting in a loss of approximately $300,000 in annual revenue primarily from Electronic Arts' Madden football video games.

"If the war escalates, we'll address it when it happens," Leech said, when asked whether the NFL would consider pulling its 2022 games overseas.

Over the next decade, the NFL's international growth plan will be successful, according to Leech.

Where would the NFL be at that point?

According to Leech, football fans in 12 to 15 markets worldwide would be deeply engaged with the NFL, and the league would have over 3 million paid subscribers for its Game Pass streaming business.

In that country, the top three most-popular sports properties may vary based on the market, according to Leech.