The most frequent team sent to London since the NFL began holding games there annually, the Jaguars have doubled down on their overseas commitment. They are set to play two London games in 2020, stirring understandable speculation about their future in Jacksonville.
The Jaguars are set to become the first team to play multiple home games overseas; they will do so in back-to-back weeks. Both games will occur at Wembley Stadium, a venue Khan was in talks to buy before backing out of the pursuit.
This could be interpreted as the NFL testing the waters for a long-rumored London team, and Jags owner Shad Khan has connections to England sports as owner of the English Premier League’s Fulham F.C. But Khan, per Jags president Mark Lamping during a Sirius XM Radio interview (via Pro Football Talk), is “committed to keeping the (Jaguars) in northeast Florida.”
“The most important thing (Khan) wants to do is bring a Super Bowl to Duval County, and obviously we have a lot of work to do on that front,” Lamping said. “But the other thing he wants to do is ensure that there’s NFL football in northeast Florida for many generations to come.
“… London supplements what we’re doing in Jacksonville. It certainly doesn’t replace it.”
NFL inroads to a possible London team have stalled, to some degree. But the Jags, who have played a game in London each season since 2013, have long been the top candidate to relocate — if, in fact, the NFL opts to relocate a team to England rather than launch a UK expansion team — to the point that Khan as secured a right-of-first-refusal arrangement regarding an NFL London move.
Lamping, however, insists the Jaguars doubling up on their London schedule has no connection to a potential relocation.
“This isn’t about next season or the next few seasons in Jacksonville, but really about the next 10 years, 25 years and beyond,” Lamping said in a team announcement. “There is no better time than now to capitalize on the opportunity to play two home games in London, where we will continue to develop our loyal and growing fanbase there and throughout the UK, during a period in which I will be focused heavily on creating a new downtown (Jacksonville) experience that we want, need and must have here.”
Who cares.
Actual fans of the sport.
all sports love to oversatuate the Florida market…
It sure looks like that when your playing 1/4 of home games in London.
I think they should just play road games from now on.
Why should any team have to go to London to play because Jacksonville could care less about their team? We don’t need a team in London. Put it elsewhere and be done with it already. Also don’t want to hear the BS that Con Man doesn’t want to move to London. That is apparent he does.
You people outside the situation have no idea what you’re talking about.
Jaguar fans support the team just fine…especially considering their record the last 15 years.
The problem is they aren’t winning and they have the ability to make a ton of extra money playing in London.
If they were winning even half their games this would t be needed OR if London was t an option this wouldn’t be happening.
Take a look at NFL attendance…..Jacksonville is never last.
Yet none of you “experts” ever suggest any of these other teams should move.
Khan is a fantastic businessman….too good.That is why he is taking advantage of London’s $$ right now.
He is also about to spend 10’s of millions more developing downtown Jax.
No one does that and then moves their team.
Well, bye!
Don’t know the logic in moving a Team to London AFTER spending the money Khan has spent to upgrade the stadium; practice facilities and then more to come in revitalization around the stadium … makes no sense to me; however, with his London ties … I could see him eager to take advantage if an NFL Team is ever a definite for London.
It doesn’t make sense.
But these geniuses who know nothing about what Khan has done…and will do,in Jacksonville don’t know that.
Unfortunately that doesn’t stop them from making their snide comments and acting like they are experts in Jaguars football.
Two game sin London is not a good look….but it still has nothing to do with a permanent move.