The Jaguars Have Found a Home In London. Is it Coming to an End?

LONDON — The cries of “Duuuval!” are ringing out across the stadium, teal jerseys are dotting the crowd, and the atmosphere is fiercely partisan.

This was the scene on Sunday in London, not Jacksonville, and it was yet another sign that the British capital has become a second home for the NFL’s most well-traveled franchise.

Backed by its signature rallying cry — a shout out to the name of the team’s home county back in Florida — the Jaguars burst onto the field at Wembley Stadium to face the Houston Texans for its 16th game in London and 12th at the iconic soccer stadium, both by far the most of any NFL team.

Since its first game at Wembley in 2013, the Jaguars have been an annual presence in London, playing at least one game there in every year since (except for the 2020 season that was impacted by the pandemic). What began primarily as a way for the NFL to test its international ambitions and for Jacksonville owner Shad Khan to boost the team’s revenue has resulted in one of the league’s least-heralded franchises — they are one of only four teams to never reach the Super Bowl — making significant inroads in a foreign country.

And it all might be coming to an end. Next season the team is likely to play at least one game in London while its home stadium in Jacksonville undergoes $1.4 billion in renovations. The team will play the rest of its home games at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, and EverBank Stadium will be ready for the team’s return in 2028. Both Khan and team president Mark Lamping said last weekend that the goal is for the Jaguars to play all of their home games at that venue that season.

Every NFL team is required to give up a home game every four years, but the Jaguars have been doing so for more than a decade. Four years ago they began a multi-year contract with the NFL to get full revenue from an annual home game at Wembley Stadium. Much of that revenue comes from tickets, which ESPN reported would be 40% higher there than it would be in Jacksonville.

However, as was evidenced by the pockets of empty seats on Sunday, attendance for this year’s Jaguars game at Wembley was lower than in recent years, renewing questions about whether the team should continue its international adventure once its renovated home — which the team refers to as the Stadium of the Future — is ready.

The end of their two-week stay in London this fall gave SportsTravel a chance to explore the future of the Jaguars and the NFL in that city.

Late-Game Drama

On the field, at least, it was business as usual. The Jaguars arrived overseas with a .500 record in games in London, and they left that way too, splitting a pair of matchups with the Eagles and Texans. Both games ended the same way: on walk-off field goals. On October 11, Jacksonville beat Philadelphia 19-17 on a 57-yard field goal by Cam Little, who had grown up playing soccer and watching the Premier League.

On October 18, the Jaguars were on the other end of those theatrics, as Houston snatched a 34-31 victory via Ka’imi Fairbairn‘s 49-yard field goal as time expired. That was despite Jacksonville clawing back a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, helped in part by a 60-yard field goal by Little. Among the day’s other stars for Jacksonville: quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns, and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter became the first player with both a touchdown catch and an interception in the same game since the Eagles’ Brian Dawkins in 2002.

But much like the bright sunlight gave way to the heavens opening 30 minutes before kickoff, the Jaguars’ hopes of taking the game to overtime were dramatically extinguished, and the rain-sodden fans had to wonder how many more chances they would get to see the Jaguars at Wembley.

Fan Travel

This day was more than just about a football game. It was an opportunity for fans, particularly those living outside the U.S., to see their favorite team in person and to feel a tangible connection with a franchise that now has established brand recognition across the pond. For first-time NFL watchers, this was their entry point into a sport that has long seemed exclusively American.

There were supporters like Rhonda Mayers Smith, a Jaguars season-ticket holder for 28 years, who made the 8,500-mile round trip from Jacksonville, Florida, to experience her first game abroad.

And there was Armin Schwarz, who became a Jags fan through their previous London games and this year traveled from Lake Constance in Southern Germany before flying from Stuttgart to London to watch them play.

And there was Luke Rockett, from Sheffield, England, who discovered his love for the Jaguars after visiting his aunt in Jacksonville during the team’s inaugural season of 1995 and returning with his own Mark Brunel jersey. He believes that he might have been the first UK-based Jaguars fan.

And for some fans whose travel depends on their job, like Dimitrius Davis, a Florida native and current U.S. Army soldier stationed in Belgium, the experience is extra special: “I think the Jaguars’ London games are an underrated opportunity for military members stationed in Europe,” he said. “Being away from the States doesn’t have to mean missing out on seeing your team in person. I’ve been able to enjoy great seats and an atmosphere that feels very different from an NFL game in America.”

Dimitrius pointed to the variety of NFL jerseys in the crowd, which make the game feel more like a celebration of the league than just a single team, and indeed there were fans wearing jerseys representing the Seahawks, Dolphins, Buccaneers, Steelers, and more.

Fan experience packages also enabled home fans to watch their team abroad. One such package from Friendly Planet offered five-day tours for up to 25 travelers, including round-trip airfares from Philadelphia, New York, Newark or Jacksonville to London, ground transportation, five-star accommodation, meals, match tickets, and more.

‘First Class’ London Experience

The Jaguars’ players and staff also had a comfortable trip. The team arrived on October 9, two days before its game at Hotspur Stadium, and once again stayed at The Grove, a luxury resort five miles south of Wembley Stadium that has become their home-away-from-home each year.

“My London experience has been great,” said Jaguars rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron, a 23-year-old from Texas. “I was able to check out Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. The crowds are definitely a lot, honestly compared to Jacksonville, but it’s definitely been a cool experience.”

“It’s been a first-class experience all the way, from our stay to the professionalism of our treatment by everyone,” said Jaguars head coach Liam Coen after the game. “I know we have a lot of confidence from being here. It’s a bummer to come out and not be able to give our fans from Jacksonville and across the pond a win.”

Pre-Game Activations

In London, gameday was simply the crescendo of an entire week of activations and entertainment.

The promotions for the three London Games this year began on October 1 (before the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Washington Commanders at Hotspur Stadium), when a new NFL pop-up retail store selling official NFL jerseys and merchandise opened on Oxford Street. Furthermore, a fan event program called NFL Shop LIVE featured an interview with Efe Obada, who grew up in foster homes in England before playing for six NFL teams, and an “Inside the Huddle” Sky Sports live podcast with co-hosts Phoebe Schecter and Neil Reynolds.

Before the third and final game, Greenwood Bar in Victoria was the go-to destination for fans to come together and meet everyone from the Jaguars mascot and the team’s cheerleaders to former NFL players such as cornerback Jason Bell. The second night sold more than 700 tickets for fans from across the UK and beyond.

An open training practice on Friday at the Jaguars’ team hotel allowed kids and supporters to watch their favorite players up close after securing their coveted tickets via a fan ballot.

Before the game itself, 1,000-plus supporters squeezed into Beers & Bites — a pop-up fanzone that offered exactly what it said on the tin. Fans sampled British and American food and beverages before enjoying pre-game entertainment options, including a live DJ set, interactive games, and player-inspired photo shoots.

Ticket Issues And The Future

Despite the enthusiasm from some corners, there was a mixed picture regarding ticket sales for this year’s London Series.

The October 11 matchup between the Eagles and the Jaguars at Tottenham set a record for an American football game at that venue with attendance of 61,322; the stadium has a listed maximum size of of 62,850 for an NFL game, meaning the game had a 97 percent capacity. In comparison, the previous Sunday’s clash between the Commanders and the Colts sold only 60,907 tickets, despite prices dropping from highs of £185 ($245) to £79 ($105), according to the Associated Press.

The percentage capacity was even smaller on Sunday at Wembley, down to 91 percent, and the overall attendance of 82,497 fell short of recent Jaguars games at that venue; three of the team’s last four games there had topped 86,000 and had been listed as sellouts.

Those figures point to strong demand for an emerging sport in the UK, but also point to wider challenges around pricing structures.

Dynamic pricing is commonly employed at sports and entertainment events across the United States, where prices change in real time based on market demand or competitor pricing. However, the practice has not been widely adopted in the UK, and fans who bought their tickets early for the London Games took to social media to complain that later bookers were paying far less because of slow sales.

Rising ticket prices amidst a global cost-of-living crisis has created an inevitable conflict. Ticket aggregator Ticket-Compare estimates that the cheapest NFL London tickets this season have risen by 43.9 percent since 2019, while the most expensive ones had jumped 96.5 percent in that same period. On Sunday, Wembley tickets still ranged from £81 ($108) to £335 ($446) on Ticketmaster UK.

The NFL justified its premium ticket pricing structure in London by positioning the games as rare, “special events” that generate huge audiences and high operational costs. as opposed to standard league matchups.

It certainly hasn’t dampened the league’s efforts to grow around the world. The NFL is playing a record nine overseas games in seven countries this season, including the first games in Australia and France.

It remains to be seen whether the Jaguars will continue to be the NFL’s foremost export. Despite its repeated forays abroad, the Jaguars were just the 28th most-watched team on NFL Game Pass in Britain and Ireland last season. That could improve this year with Jacksonville off to a strong 4-2 start and a two-game lead in the AFC South that makes it a likely playoff team.

Its international visits may not have brought them the same popularity of teams like the New York Giants or Dallas Cowboys, but the Jaguars have transformed the NFL’s visibility in the UK, welcomed new fans, and generated economic value from inbound travel.

The NFL will continue to push for growth, especially ahead of flag football’s Olympic debut on home soil at LA28. Great Britain’s women’s team figures to be a medal contender as the reigning European champions, and they played a part in the pregame festivities on Sunday. Players from both the men’s and women’s team marched around the stadium at halftime, and before the game Jochebed Frimpong, a wide receiver and defensive back for Team GB — the Travis Hunter of British women’s flag football — was given the honor of leading the final “Duuuval” rallying call before the game.

It sounded right at home.