'I'd pull the trigger right now': NFL star Jason Bell says London is ready for an NFL franchise

Former NFL star Jason Bell says he would ‘pull the trigger right now’ if he were the man to make the call on a London-based franchise.

After another four sell-outs for NFL in London at Wembley and Twickenham in 2017, there is clearly an appetite for a London franchise, far more so than a decade ago when the idea was first floated.

With NFL bosses setting out a 15-year target when the idea was proposed in 2007, Bell is hoping we’re close to seeing the plan through and knows it would go down well in London.

“I sure hope so,” the former cornerback, who now works alongside Mark Chapman on the BBC’s NFL Show, told Standard Sport.

“I wish I could make the decision on the top of the chain of command, I would pull the trigger right now!

“But no, it’s just an amazing experience, you know being here and witnessing it first-hand seeing the support and all the different teams represented, it’s an amazing event.

“You see nothing like that in the States, it’s like a play-off game or Road to the Super Bowl every time there is a game here.

“Oh absolutely [there’s the fanbase to warrant a franchise], you’ve seen the growth of the sport, it’s exploding over here and the NFL is doing a great job of promoting it, pushing it.”

One of the biggest dates in the NFL calendar is Thanksgiving with ties running from Thursday through until Tuesday as fans celebrate on both sides of the Atlantic.

As a standout weekend for fans, Bell says he’s more than prepared for the football, and the food.

He added: “I mean you know thanksgiving and football, they are the same sentence. You always think of being with your family and friends, eating a tonne of great food and playing and watching football.

“We used to, in the States, go outside and play a game with friends a family, then watch a game, then play some more, watch another game and eat, it’s just a part of the culture.

“Even out here [in England] I’m so excited, I’m gonna have dinner with friends and watch it all on NFL Game Pass on my TV and my mobile, I’m all ready!”

Credit: Catch all of the Thanksgiving Day action on The NFL Show on Saturday night after Match Of The Day on BBC1, or sign-up to Game Pass for Thanksgiving week at the special price of £2.99 for seven days.