MINNEAPOLIS -- Before the Minnesota Vikings agreed to give up a home game and play the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium in 2013, they had been in talks with the NFL about playing in London in 2013, 2014 and 2015. The Jacksonville Jaguars eventually gave up a home game for four seasons, in a deal that runs through 2016, but it seemed possible the Vikings would make one more trip across the Atlantic Ocean before opening their new stadium in 2016.

That won't happen, as it turns out. The NFL announced the matchups for three London games next season, and the Vikings aren't on the list. The Miami Dolphins will host the New York Jets on Oct. 4, 2015, in the first divisional game played in London, and the Jaguars will face the Buffalo Bills there on Oct. 25. Finally, the Kansas City Chiefs will give up a home game to face the Detroit Lions on Nov. 1, 2015, in the Lions' second trip to London in as many years.

The Vikings don't have road games scheduled against any of the three London home teams next year, so the only way they would have returned was in a home game. That seemed like a possibility, considering the team's reduced revenues in 2014 and 2015 at TCF Bank Stadium; if the NFL had agreed to give the Vikings the same reimbursement they got in 2013, equal to an average home game at the Metrodome, they might have actually made more at Wembley Stadium than in any of their home dates at the University of Minnesota. But the extra effort of transporting an entire football operation overseas for a week was certainly noticeable in 2013, and many in the organization thought the Vikings wouldn't return to London so soon unless it was as the road team, which isn't asked to handle as many promotional duties leading up to the game and generally arrives in the UK later in the week.

Minnesota's tentative 2015 opponents include Denver, Oakland, Arizona and San Francisco on the road, so the Vikings will already have plenty of long flights next season. They'll likely wind up in London again at some point, as the league expands its presence there, but it's doubtful they'd be asked to give up a home date in their first several seasons at their new stadium.

So apparently this sportswriter -- who absolutely loved the London experience in 2013 -- will have to wait to cover another game there. Your condolences are welcome.