London's Wembley Stadium hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their "home" game against the Chicago Bears this Sunday, Oct. 23, as part of the NFL International Series. The Bucs also visited London two seasons ago to play the New England Patriots, and future games at Wembley aren't out of the question. According to Rick Stroud, "[t]he NFL has expressed an interest in playing two games per year in London and at least one team may be asked to commit to playing a 'home' game there each season," and the Bucs would at least consider fulfilling that request.
"If it gets to the point where they talk about putting a team here one game each season on a consistent basis, certainly at that point it will be (a discussion)," said general manager Mark Dominik, "but right now I've never heard and certainly have never had a conversation about that being us."
Playing one game a year across an entire ocean would add travel expenses, but also fatigue, which could adversely affect on-field performance. Dominik points out, however, that flying to London takes just 90 minutes longer than flying to the West Coast. Plus, the Seattle Seahawks, he says, travel long distances every season by virtue of their location.
Another factor for the Bucs to consider if they ever need to decide to play in London on an annual basis is fan reaction stateside, as losing a home game might upset fans in Tampa Bay.