The NFL’s owners voted this week to play eight games a year outside the United States, starting in 2025. But one owner spoke against the measure.
Bears owner George McCaskey was the lone dissenting voice in a 31-1 vote, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS.
McCaskey isn’t opposed to playing international games, but he does think teams should be able to protect their best home games to be played in their own stadiums. McCaskey noted that Bears fans wouldn’t want to miss a rare chance to see a star quarterback play in Chicago because that game was being played in Sao Paulo or Madrid or London.
“We have generational talents coming in,” McCaskey said, according to the report. “Fans want to see Patrick Mahomes coming in. They want to see Josh Allen coming in. They want to see Jalen Hurts coming in. They want to see Tommy DeVito coming in.”
That last part drew a laugh, but McCaskey made a valid point: As the Bears seek local support for a new stadium, it’s going to be harder to sell that stadium if fans think the Bears’ best “home” game might not actually be played at home because the NFL is busy marketing itself to the rest of the world. The league’s owners are gung-ho about playing abroad, but they shouldn’t forget the concerns of their most loyal fans, the season ticket holders.
