The Logistics of Moving an NFL Team

By Matt Boguski

Paw Print – Editor

In 2017, National Football League teams on an average $4,000,000 on travel, it really makes you wonder what it takes for teams to spend so much money with only 8 away games.

In the 2020 season, the Green Bay Packers were almost always moving, having had only two occasions in which the team stayed at home for more than a week. This means that out of the seventeen-week season, the team had to travel by plane fourteen times. A single flight alone can be pretty taxing on a person, although combine that with having to travel almost every week, going through different timezones, up to forty-eight multi-million dollar contract players, tons of other staff members, and other forms of equipment, and you got yourself a logistical nightmare. 

Throughout the season, a majority of the teams use charter jets from airlines such as American, Delta, and United Airlines to travel. If you have ever gone on a field trip using those higher-end buses, those are charter buses. Essentially, chartering an airline’s jet allows for the team to use the jet privately, without having to deal with the hassle of actually owning the jet. According to The Points Guy, chartering an aircraft can cost tens of thousands of dollars an hour alone. Although American and United Airlines both started dropping clients from using their aircraft as charters when they realized that using them for normal commercial service was more profitable.

Yet one team decides to get past all the issues with chartering by outright owning two Boeing 767 wide-body airliners. The New England Patriots. According to Business Insider, the two aircraft are believed to have cost around ten million dollars. Although it is estimated that owning the former American Airlines jet can be more cost-efficient for the team as the prices for flying, especially a charter jet, increase over time.