Have London Franchise Plans Taken a Hit with Jacksonville’s Move?
The 2026 season will see the Jacksonville Jaguars come to London once again. Their 12th game at Wembley and fourth at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will, once again, be very well attended by the Brits, further fuelling the conversation for a London-based franchise. However, the team once earmarked to do so likely won’t now.
Jaguars Doubling-Down on Jacksonville
In 2025, the Jacksonville Jaguars saw a record-breaking attendance for an NFL game in London, with 86,651 fans going to see their comeback victory against the New England Patriots. It’s a very strong showing and, thanks to the exchange rate, as ESPN reports, increases game day ticket revenue by about 40 percent for the travelling teams.
Seemingly, London loves the Jags and would embrace them as their team should they move. This looked to be the plan for the small-market, not overly successful franchise for quite some time. Now, however, the Jags are going big on improving their home with a roughly $1.5 billion renovation.
EverBank Stadium will undergo a future-proofing project, allowing the Jags to play at home in 2026, but be based out of a new home in 2027 and perhaps some of 2028 until renovations are complete. Such an outlay would heavily suggest that the Jags are staying put, putting into question whether the NFL will ever commit to a London team.
A Strong Profile that Needs More Growth
The NFL has steadily been growing in prominence and popularity in the UK over the last decade. The International Games have, naturally, been the spearhead of these efforts, but so too have favorable TV deals. Showing games on free-to-view channels like the BBC and ITV has helped, as has running games and Red Zone on Sky Sports.
The set kick-off windows each Sunday, being UK-friendly, have been a huge help, and a reason why the likes of the NHL have struggled to garner strong viewership across the Atlantic, despite the sport itself being more popular and played. Even so, the efforts are yet to reach the levels of home-based marketing for teams or the league.
As an example, in each home state, teams have collaborated with online entertainment platforms to create curated experiences. The UK casino space is far more seasoned than that of the US and features plenty of branded and sports games, like Top Cat and Goal Goal Goal! Pachin-Goal, so an NFL or team-specific game wouldn’t be out of place.
Live casino games that run the scores and highlights or instant-win games that are in the NFL theme would all subtly promote the league and offer more ways to engage beyond the annual arrival of the league. However, marketing and fan outreach efforts like this are still in the hopper for when the NFL commits to a plan.
Unfortunately, the league has done so well at selling the product as is that it’ll be tough to convince fans to commit to a home team. As the poll from YouGov shows, the most popular teams are the Dolphins, Cowboys, Jets, and Giants, with the Jags – despite greatly lacking fame – being the next-most popular because of their trips to London.
Fandom is pretty well spread across the NFL for UK fans, with plenty tuning in to follow their team week-to-week. So, the NFL would seemingly need to gamble on sending one over to appease the larger fan base or create a new team and try to convince fans to switch allegiances.