Jim Irsay on Colts playing in London: “This isn’t our last time coming here”

The Indianapolis Colts are in London for their first ever game at Wembley Stadium as part of the NFL’s International Series, but it sounds like it won’t be the last time.

"I know that Londoners are going to start falling more and more in love as the Colts get over here more,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said today, according to the Indianapolis Star’s Stephen Holder. “This isn’t our last time coming here. We look forward to having a permanent NFL team here. I see a team, whether expansion or whatever, we want to have a permanent home in London and have the NFL in London."

Irsay has been outspoken for a while about how he thinks an NFL franchise will wind up in London, and he said today that his goal as an owner is to find the right owner and right team to move to London permanently. Because of Irsay’s comments, it seems as if he’s saying that the Colts will play in London again because there will be a team in London at some point, but there are still plenty of logistical problems to be sorted out before that happens. So that means it’s possible the Colts will once again travel to London at some point in the next few years to play a game overseas.

One thing that we know is that the Colts were reluctant to give up a home game this year to do so, which is why it worked out for them to go as the visiting team to face the Jaguars. But Irsay has long been one of the more vocal owners regarding putting a team in London, which means his team might have to play another game there until the NFL can figure out how to place a franchise there on a permanent basis. The Colts seem to be enjoying the London trip so far, but let’s wait and see what they think after playing the game Sunday too. But today, Irsay made clear that the Colts will be back playing in London at some point.