Tickets went on sale later than usual, but the two NFL games to be played in London new months remain on pace to be sold out.
Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the pandemic will result in a much greater concentration of British fans. But the tickets are still selling, even with fewer American fans making the trip to London for one or both games.
The NFL’s new boss in the UK and Europe, Brett Gosper, told Fischer that premium sales are “slightly softer” than usual, attributing the difference to the fact that those sales typically are driven by American fans. Gosper said the only thing keeping the games from being regarded as sellouts is the possibility that tickets will come back unsold from the four teams that will be playing in the games. If that happens, Gosper believes they’ll be purchased by fans living in Britain.
The Jets and Falcons play on October 10 and the Dolphins and Jaguars square off a week later, with both games to be played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Currently, the government does not require proof of vaccination or negative COVID testing prior to attendance. However, that possibly could happen.
Vaccinated Americans traveling to London for one or both of the games must test negative upon arriving. Unvaccinated Americans must quarantine for 10 days.
At this point, there’s no reason to think the games won’t proceed. For a while in August, as the Delta variant rampaged and officials revisited the rules for public gatherings, some wondered whether the NFL games in London would happen. For now, they apparently will, even if it means that players and staff who possibly have COVID are crammed into an airplane for hours with players and staff who could catch it from them during the long trip.
