NFL Europe Was Abandoned Far Too Soon

NFL Europe may not be a household name today but football fans at least have a passing knowledge about the brief overseas experiment.

Most just assume it was a harebrained venture. An attempt by the league to expand across the Atlantic at a time when the game wasn’t all that popular over there. It failed initially in 1991 and 1992 and was closed for three years before coming back in 1995. The entire idea was to form a sort of spring league. A way to expand the game to a year-round event under the NFL umbrella.

Even though millions of dollars were sunk into it and it lasted for 12 years, nobody every really took it seriously. Part of the problem was all games took place overseas and thus it was hard to see them on TV. This is a shame because over time it became clear the league, while not on part with the NFL itself had begun to serve as a breeding ground for some really good players.

Kurt Warner and James Harrison among NFL Europe success stories

Easily the most famous alum from that time is Kurt Warner. The quarterback signed with the St. Louis Rams in 1997 and spent a year playing over there. This allowed him to return by 1998 and become a regular backup on the team. In 1999 he ascended to started, won MVP honors and the Super Bowl. There was also James Harrison.

An undrafted free agent, he bounced around for a time between Pittsburgh and Baltimore. The Ravens ended up sending him to Europe where he honed his craft. A year later he returns to the U.S. and signed back with the Steelers. From there he won two Super Bowls and became a Defensive Player of the Year. Baltimore probably regrets that decision.

ESPN made a list of big mistakes the NFL has made over the years. Among the most unheralded was their decision to close NFL Europe without some sort of idea on how they could help certain players develop.

"“NFL Europe was shuttered in 2007. It was losing millions of dollars per year, and owners didn’t see enough returns on either of its dual goals: international outreach and player development. They switched emphasis on the former, scheduling more NFL teams to play in London, but ignored the latter.At the very least, NFL Europe had been a decent breeding ground for quarterback depth. The failure to replace it with a domestic version, and the 2011 decision to limit offseason workouts, has put the league in an undeniable bind.”"

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Quality of play was significantly better from 2000 to 2007 when NFL Europe was in operation. Since going down the array of good quarterbacks has really thinned out. This is why many have clamored for the NFL to re-institute some sort of spring league. A way to for teams to stash certain players who are talented but may need a year or two of work away. It would also help to fill a notable void from May to August that is considered a major dead period for the sport.