Shahid Khan, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, wants to continue their annual game in London. The last scheduled game to be played in London as of right now is in 2016, after that the four-year term expires. Khan has just recently made his opinion about continuing playing in London public, his exact words were, "It's been really great for us, our goal is to extend it."
The annual London game has had a positive influence on the Jacksonville Jaguars and has made big contributions in the improvements that the Jaguars have made. The game has been beneficial because of the higher ticket prices and additional seating at Wembley Stadium compared to EverBank Field.
The NFL has lead on multiple times that there may be a team based in London within the next several years, possibly the Jaguars. When Khan was asked about this he said that there is no plan in place for moving the Jaguars to London.
I think that keeping the annual game in London is a good idea, not only because it is beneficial but because it is something different. Even if the NFL is considering placing a team in London I think that they should continue with this annual game until that happens. It would help keep American football popular over in London as well as draw more fans. If the NFL does place a team in London I don't think that they should move the Jaguars there because then that would leave Jacksonville without a team. I feel that it would be better to create a new team for London, it would give more athletes the chance to make it to the league as well as create another team for fans to follow. I think that having a NFL team in London would be beneficial for the league because it would expand exposure of the sport and league but expand the fan base as well.
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/02/09/Franchises/Jaguars-Khan.aspx
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/02/09/Franchises/Jaguars-Khan.aspx
I believe the four-year term should end by the end of the 2016 season. The NFL has been working on the expansion of the league in England. They believe the division will be created by 2020. The Jacksonville Jaguars should save money by not creating another contract, and try to have season games against the new England division so that they can travel, and still be apart of the London game. The expansion of the NFL into England will give more exposure to the professional level of football, and more competition.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you about creating a new expansion team for London should a plan be put in place to have an NFL team there. The London games have helped the Jaguars gain more global exposure and I do not believe Shahid Khan wants to move the team. However, creating a new team in London would leave the league at an uneven number of teams, so this may have to wait until another city is willing to take in an NFL franchise. One other major city that's also been talked about receiving a franchise is Los Angeles. Perhaps in the future both of these cities can take on expansion teams.
ReplyDeleteI think that having games in London is a waste of time. Sure, eventually there will be a team in London, but that amount of money the NFL is spending on sending all of these players over and now they want to do it multiple times a year just blows my mind.
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