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London solution could be a team that splits its home schedule

Prior to 1995, the Packers split their home games between stadiums in Green Bay and Milwaukee. Eventually, another team could be doing that -- with the two venues a lot farther apart.

Albert Breer of NFL Media reports that the London solution could entail a team dividing its games between an American location and England.

That possibility arises in large part from the biggest logistical hurdle associated with moving a team to London: Staging a postseason game there.

“The easiest example to think about in terms of a problem that I’m not sure we have a solution for is a playoff game -- maybe a West Coast team has to play a playoff game in London,” an owner told Breer. “There are things like that that I don’t know if we have the answer to yet. That’s why I’m hesitant to talk very much about a relocation.”

This time of year, when the NFL returns to London for its annual series of games there, few are hesitant to talk about relocation, since it continues to be a vague carrot, perpetually dangling at some point far enough in the distance to be impossible to grab but close enough to seem plausible and capture the imagination of UK residents.

One key factor is travel time, which as Breer notes has resulted in a group of NFL executives meeting Friday with Virgin Airlines in an effort to figure out when and if the days of Concorde-style speed ever will return.

Even if the travel can be shortened, plenty of hurdles remain when it comes to assigning a team on a full-time basis to London. And anything the NFL does to balance out the competitive disadvantage will be viewed as a competitive advantage, if/when that team becomes a consistent contender or champion.