We’ve heard from the NFL about the report from New Zealand that exhibition games will be played there with players who don’t make the final cut for NFL rosters. And the NFL has provided a response that leaves a fairly large hole for potential interpretation.
“We have a growing number of passionate fans in New Zealand, but at this time we have no plans to play NFL games there,” NFL spokesman Michael Signora said via email.
The report from the Sunday Star Times, however, doesn’t mention “NFL games” being played in New Zealand. Based on the report, no “NFL games” will be played in New Zealand; instead, players who aren’t employed by NFL teams will play games in what essentially will be a developmental effort, giving the players live reps as they try to become NFL players.
But if games are going to be played with non-NFL players who didn’t make the final cut to NFL rosters, it’s news to the NFL. Per a league source, neither the NFL’s international business operation nor the three teams mentioned in the story as the potential sources of player inventory for the games (the Cowboys, Cardinals, and 49ers) knew anything about it before the report emerged over the weekend.
Obviously, if someone wants to organize games in New Zealand (or anywhere) with free-agent players, those games can be organized without the blessing or even the consent of the NFL. It’s possible that someone plans to do just that, perhaps via an effort to suggest that the NFL is behind the idea, even if the NFL isn’t.
