Traveling in the NFL isn’t exactly easy, even more so when playing for the Buffalo Bills. The frigid temperatures in Orchard Park can rattle even the toughest athletes and test their will. And star receiver Keon Coleman explained just how difficult it can be. He also shed light on why NFL travel differs greatly from the NBA.
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The NFL has massive rosters — at least 53 players, plus additional personnel and coaching staff. But NBA teams aren’t that large, which allows them to travel on a single plane for games. Coleman jokingly brought this up while speaking with former women’s college basketball player and NBA analyst Monica McNutt and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony.
He also discussed how, for a team like the Bills, based in frigid conditions, traveling to warm cities comes with its own challenges. They enjoy the change and get used to it at first, but returning to the cold makes it even tougher. No wonder the team received an F-minus for travel in the NFLPA’s yearly report card.
“Y’all only have 15 people on a big a** plane. Y’all maybe can take family, we ain’t doing all that,” Keon pointed out on 7PM in Brooklyn podcast.
“I think it might be about eight people in first class (for NFL). Everybody else, it’s about the 40s. Regular economy. The plane don’t even be crazy, it’s just, you go to LA it’s 75 [degrees]. You feeling yourself, you forget you gotta come back to Buffalo, it’s 20 [degrees].”
It must be frustrating to constantly endure and accept. Buffalo isn’t exactly known for its pleasant weather. Players love the franchise and take pride in how much they’ve grown over the years, but no amount of wins or accolades can change what Mother Nature throws their way.
The podcast host then questioned why every professional sports team isn’t investing as much as possible in travel, given how it can impact team morale. He argued that NFL teams, especially the Bills, should be spending top dollar on travel. Keon loved the idea.
“I f*ck with it!” Keon said, which got a hearty laugh out of the crew. “We should spend more. We need like 40 first-class seats. We need the plane Kevin Hart had, what that was? Soul plane?”
One of the great things about Keon is his infectious, comedic personality. His ability to weave pop culture references into his analogies is no exception. You can tell others love Keon too by how they react to him—he often gets laughs just with his delivery.
The host of the show pressed Keon to share more, questioning the purpose of the team plane with the logo if it wasn’t primarily for the players.
“This ain’t the NBA bruh, I don’t know about all that,” Keon shared. “Our owner got his own plane. It might say ‘Bills’ on it, but everybody can’t fit on that… I got to fly in it one time. When I got drafted. They flew me and my people out on that jet. And I acted like a fool.”
All in all, it’s pretty simple why the NFL doesn’t spend as much on travel as the NBA. Basketball rosters have a maximum of 18 players at a time, so NBA teams are more willing to pay extra for first-class seats for the entire team. But with the NFL’s much larger rosters, luxury travel isn’t yet standard for all players.
NFL travel logistics are often more complicated than people realize. Teams use chartered flights instead of private jets to accommodate the massive amount of equipment they need to transport. For example, teams like the Miami Dolphins travel with up to 180 people for away games, and their equipment alone can weigh up to 10,000 pounds. It’s far from an easy process.
