So the World Cup came to Gillette Stadium this summer, and the whole thing got Robert Kraft thinking. Thousands of Scottish soccer fans flooded Boston, drank the city dry, and apparently made a pretty good impression on the Patriots ownership. Now Kraft is floating the idea of his team playing a real NFL game in Scotland.
Boston Globe’s Nicole Yang first reported the owner’s interest earlier this month. And sure, it sounds nice. Patriots in kilts. Bagpipes before kickoff. But is it actually happening anytime soon?
ESPN’s Mike Reiss checked in with league sources, and the answer is basically: not yet, but maybe later. The NFL told Reiss this isn’t an “active” situation, which is league-speak for “we had one conversation about it and then everyone got busy.” It’s in what they’re calling the “conversation” phase. That’s a step above a dream and a step below a formal proposal.
What Would It Take to Make This Real?
The league has already said it wants to keep expanding international games beyond the nine scheduled this season, which is a record. Commissioner Roger Goodell has been pretty open about wanting more games in more places. Scotland would be a new market, and the NFL likes new markets the way a shark likes chum.
But there’s a vetting process. The league needs to see three things, according to Reiss: a real fanbase that would show up, a stadium that can pass NFL muster, and at least one team willing to play there. The Patriots have already raised their hand on that last part. Kraft has planted his flag, as Reiss put it, as an intriguing conversation starter.
The tricky part is timing. Both the Annual League Meeting and the Spring League Meeting have already passed for this year. So nothing formal is happening anytime soon. The earliest we’d see real traction is next offseason. That gives Kraft plenty of time to keep pitching, though.
The Hard Part Nobody’s Talking About
Scotland doesn’t exactly have a stadium ready for NFL football. The largest soccer venues in the country — Celtic Park and Ibrox Stadium — hold around 50,000 people. That’s small by NFL standards, and neither one was built to handle the kind of infrastructure an NFL game requires. Field dimensions, locker rooms, broadcast needs, all of that would take serious cash and planning.
Still, the league has played in smaller venues before. London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is one of the best NFL facilities outside the U.S., but it was purpose-built. Scotland would need something similar or a major retrofit.
If the NFL ever does decide to pull the trigger on Scotland, the Patriots would almost certainly be the team that goes. They’ve got the ownership connection, the fan momentum from the World Cup, and the willingness to be part of something new. But for now, it’s still just a conversation. A good one, probably. But not a plan.
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