Fresh off a 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in the NFL’s first-ever Paris game, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a pointed message for the league.
Rodgers threw for 212 yards and one touchdown in the Steelers’ win, and in a postgame press conference, he spoke about the league’s international expansion and his experience playing in four international games so far.
Rodgers was thrilled to discuss the prospect of more international games, including the idea of an international week.
“The NFL is still shown in a number of countries; the Super Bowl is shown in over 100 countries; the reach of the league is fantastic,” Rodgers said, via the Steelers’ press conference. “I always wanted to be a part of it. I remember the 2011 CBA; there was talk about more games, expanding the amount of international games. Didn’t really [happen] a whole lot until the second CBA, and there was talk about doing a week, an international week, where you had games in 16 different places, and you just added an extra bye week so you’d play 16 regular-season; you’d have two bye weeks, one of those weeks would be an international week. I think it would have been phenomenal for the game, but now the owners want to push for 17 games, you know, for extra revenue and because they care so much about players’ safety.”
Rodgers sarcastically touched on a sore subject that has floated around the league for years, as the NFL doesn’t have a great reputation for player safety. The future Hall of Famer also didn’t hold back on the many places the league could expand to, but won’t because of a financial approach Rodgers called “tight.”
“It would have been nice,” Rodgers added. “I think there’s 16 opportunities. I mean, you could do, obviously, in Canada; you can do in Mexico; there have been games in Brazil; you can probably open up another country in South America. Obviously, there’s a lot of opportunities in Europe, you know, Ireland fantastic, France, Spain, Germany, multiple games in England, and then who knows, obviously there’s Dubai, and that area has really gotten into the sporting world in a number of ways. You got the boxing and UFC, I think, was there yesterday, I believe.
“So I think there’s great opportunity for expansion in those things. It would be awesome to see them have an international week because I think it’s great for the game and the expansion of the game, and I wish there was a mandate, though, from the league and they would have to open up their pocketbooks too, which, you know, maybe they’ll look tight on money and stuff. But I think they should mandate every team coming over Sunday or Monday to really enjoy the culture and the place you’re going. You can do events in those cities and outreach stuff and community work, but they won’t because they’re a little tight.”
Rodgers’ comments took a clear shot at the league’s owners. The Steelers’ next matchup is at home against the Cleveland Browns, as both 5-2 teams battle for first place in the AFC North.
The post Aaron Rodgers slams NFL owners over international games appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.