State of the Union: NFL in Toronto

By Mike De Marco
Love of Sports Correspondent

It’s been a long time coming for NFL fans in Toronto.

Finally, a game that matters is being played in the greatest sporting city in the world without an NFL franchise to call their own.

The Buffalo Bills and owner Ralph Wilson are in the midst of a deal that will see the Bills play eight games over the next five years in Toronto. Five of the eight games are regular season affairs.

Is this just a bone being fed to Toronto? On the surface it may appear exactly that way, but from what I hear in the city, this is more of a market-testing deal.

The NFL and Toronto have been brought up several times, and for many reasons, no relationship has been formed other than the one American Bowl played here back in 1996.

So, what’s the point of this? Well, for Wilson, it is nothing other than money. You see, the Bills owner is collecting more than $9 million per game from Rogers Communications to have the games played in Toronto. That is much, much more than he would make if the games were played in Buffalo. It is business and nothing but for Wilson.

In Toronto, it’s much more than business. Former Toronto Blue Jays CEO Paul Godfrey, who was instrumental in bringing Major League Baseball to Toronto, has a fascination with bringing the world’s greatest sporting league to Toronto and has pulled strings to bring this deal to light.

You see in Godfrey’s mind this excursion will prove to the NFL that Toronto is a football market. And to be truthful, it IS a football market. Anywhere you go in the city, football is loved, and although the CFL exists in Toronto, it is still very much an NFL town. On any given Sunday, you can walk into any sports bar in the city and you will find tons of fans watching the myriad of games being played. More-so, the fans have a very close allegiance with whatever team they follow. Trust me. I know.

There seems to be one problem. Ted Rogers, who is footing the bill, has shelled out some big bucks to have this happen, and for him, EVERYTHING is about business. So in order to make any sort of profit, ticket prices have been priced out of the normal fans range. It has become corporate. Prices are ranging anywhere from just under a hundred dollars to over $400 for the primo seats. Can you afford that? I know I can’t, so what is a die hard to do?

For the preseason game in the summer, when the Steelers played Buffalo, tickets were GIVEN away just before game time because not many were bought; I can understand why at those prices. The left over tickets were given away so organizers wouldn’t have egg on their face and have an empty building.

I truly believe that during the regular season game here in a couple weeks the stadium will be full, but that’s just because all the corporate companies will use the tickets to woo clients. There seems to be a common denominator here: money! It’s always about the money.

Truth is, the NFL could easily succeed in Toronto if done properly. There are much more football fans here than in Buffalo, or say Jacksonville for instance. If tickets were priced properly, there would be a sellout faster than Wilson could scream BLACKOUT! But the NFL has other issues on their docket that are deemed more important, like how to get a team in the second largest U.S. market. Hear of Los Angeles anyone?

So, the only way Toronto would ever get an NFL franchise is if the Bills relocated. A big portion of their fan base resides in Toronto, but Wilson will never move the team here. Wilson is old, real old, and the notion going around is that once he’s gone, a new owner may consider moving the team here, considering the market is much bigger.

Once again, it’s all about the dollars. That would then bring more issues to the table. For instance, Toronto’s current stadium, the Rogers Center, does not hold enough seats to satisfy league mandate. Furthermore, a Toronto franchise would probably have to secure a television deal of its own. I can’t see all the other franchises willing to share their precious television revenue with a franchise that can’t contribute to it.

These are just some of the issues Toronto would face if the NFL were to plant a flag here. It is a long shot ‘yes,’ but definitely a possibility. Toronto would serve the NFL well.