From Vic today:

Josh from Jacksonville, FL
So this week Mark Lamping said, “To sit back and say winning is going to cure everything -- not in this market." He also said it's possible two home games would be played in London. Vic, you wrote back in November a London team would be based in Florida and (could) play games in a two-home, two-away routine between London and the U.S. Obviously, there are still a lot of moving parts to make a move to London, but red flags should be waving for Jaguars fans. Shad Khan is already on record stating there is "limited demand" for football in Jacksonville. You're right, the owner is the steward of the franchise and Khan has made it clear what he wants long term.
Would a four-and-four, shared-franchise plan be a bad thing? A connection to London would drive a lot of growth in Jacksonville. Think about it.

I don't think Vic realises how small the Jags would be in London. They'd be barely a blip in the weekly sports scene

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From Vic today:

Josh from Jacksonville, FL
So this week Mark Lamping said, “To sit back and say winning is going to cure everything -- not in this market." He also said it's possible two home games would be played in London. Vic, you wrote back in November a London team would be based in Florida and (could) play games in a two-home, two-away routine between London and the U.S. Obviously, there are still a lot of moving parts to make a move to London, but red flags should be waving for Jaguars fans. Shad Khan is already on record stating there is "limited demand" for football in Jacksonville. You're right, the owner is the steward of the franchise and Khan has made it clear what he wants long term.
Would a four-and-four, shared-franchise plan be a bad thing? A connection to London would drive a lot of growth in Jacksonville. Think about it.

I don't think Vic realises how small the Jags would be in London. They'd be barely a blip in the weekly sports scene

I'd assume they would end the international series games and only have the Jags, that way the don't have too many games and don't sell out.

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From Vic today:

Josh from Jacksonville, FL
So this week Mark Lamping said, “To sit back and say winning is going to cure everything -- not in this market." He also said it's possible two home games would be played in London. Vic, you wrote back in November a London team would be based in Florida and (could) play games in a two-home, two-away routine between London and the U.S. Obviously, there are still a lot of moving parts to make a move to London, but red flags should be waving for Jaguars fans. Shad Khan is already on record stating there is "limited demand" for football in Jacksonville. You're right, the owner is the steward of the franchise and Khan has made it clear what he wants long term.
Would a four-and-four, shared-franchise plan be a bad thing? A connection to London would drive a lot of growth in Jacksonville. Think about it.

I have a suspicion that shared franchises may be the small market model of the future. Shad is just a little ahead of the game.

What that will do for fan support/loyalty is anyone's guess.

The Packers did a four-and-four thing with Milwaukee a while back. A little different than Jacksonville to London, sure, but the shared franchise concept bombed there. At some point, a few issues would come up:

• From Jacksonville's point of view: why should we spend a ton of money that the city definitely does not have on a stadium for a team that's only here four times a year?
  
• From London's point of view: why should the revenue earned by the Jaguars here be going back to keep one of the top ten swamp cities in northeast Florida from sinking?
  
• From Khan's point of view: why should I continue making significantly less money on one of the top ten swamp cities in northeast Florida when I'm proving every week that an NFL franchise can thrive in London?
  
• From a Jacksonville fan's point of view: this isn't my team anymore. It's London's team. "Jacksonville" is a footnote to "London Jaguars". Why would I commit to season tickets for a team that's flipping me the bird while having one foot out the door and dangling the other on the threshold?
  

And that's just the start of it. If the Jaguars are going to move more than two games, they might as well move the whole team. Anything more than that and it's just clear that London is keeping the Jacksonville Jaguars on life support.

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From Vic today:

Josh from Jacksonville, FL
So this week Mark Lamping said, “To sit back and say winning is going to cure everything -- not in this market." He also said it's possible two home games would be played in London. Vic, you wrote back in November a London team would be based in Florida and (could) play games in a two-home, two-away routine between London and the U.S. Obviously, there are still a lot of moving parts to make a move to London, but red flags should be waving for Jaguars fans. Shad Khan is already on record stating there is "limited demand" for football in Jacksonville. You're right, the owner is the steward of the franchise and Khan has made it clear what he wants long term.
Would a four-and-four, shared-franchise plan be a bad thing? A connection to London would drive a lot of growth in Jacksonville. Think about it.

I have a suspicion that shared franchises may be the small market model of the future. Shad is just a little ahead of the game.

What that will do for fan support/loyalty is anyone's guess.

They'd have to come up with a business model that includes more than one NFL-quality stadium though.  Wembley is a unique case because the stadium is already there and hosts a lot of things besides NFL football games.  If the Jags play 4 home games in London, it would be very hard to justify some of the desired stadium improvements with only 4 regular season home games there.

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I don't think Vic realises how small the Jags would be in London. They'd be barely a blip in the weekly sports scene

I'd assume they would end the international series games and only have the Jags, that way the don't have too many games and don't sell out.

It'd still have a miniscule standing in England and London

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I have a suspicion that shared franchises may be the small market model of the future. Shad is just a little ahead of the game.

What that will do for fan support/loyalty is anyone's guess.

The Packers did a four-and-four thing with Milwaukee a while back. A little different than Jacksonville to London, sure, but the shared franchise concept bombed there. At some point, a few issues would come up:

• From Jacksonville's point of view: why should we spend a ton of money that the city definitely does not have on a stadium for a team that's only here four times a year?
  
• From London's point of view: why should the revenue earned by the Jaguars here be going back to keep one of the top ten swamp cities in northeast Florida from sinking?
  
• From Khan's point of view: why should I continue making significantly less money on one of the top ten swamp cities in northeast Florida when I'm proving every week that an NFL franchise can thrive in London?
  
• From a Jacksonville fan's point of view: this isn't my team anymore. It's London's team. "Jacksonville" is a footnote to "London Jaguars". Why would I commit to season tickets for a team that's flipping me the bird while having one foot out the door and dangling the other on the threshold?
  

And that's just the start of it. If the Jaguars are going to move more than two games, they might as well move the whole team. Anything more than that and it's just clear that London is keeping the Jacksonville Jaguars on life support.

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"What do I know of cultured ways, the gilt, the craft and the lie? I, who was born in a naked land and bred in the open sky. The subtle tongue, the sophist guile, they fail when the broadswords sing; Rush in and die, dogs - I was a man before I was a king."

From Vic today:

Would a four-and-four, shared-franchise plan be a bad thing? A connection to London would drive a lot of growth in Jacksonville. Think about it.

I have a suspicion that shared franchises may be the small market model of the future. Shad is just a little ahead of the game.

What that will do for fan support/loyalty is anyone's guess.

What that will do?

The team would become nomads wandering from one stadium to the next, because what city is going to put funding together for a NFL-caliber stadium that doesn't have a franchise committed to play there? They'll either play in run-down, outdated facility in desperate need of repair, or lease/inhabit a stadium used by another team, either NFL or NCAA.

You'll see a lot like the Chargers - undersized stadium, no home support, no diehard fanbase willing to buy season tickets (or later, PSLs) year in and year out, and eventually the team wanders to the next stop where more of those missing boxes are checked.

We probably end up the Orlando Jags at best if TIAA is ever torn down.

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I have a suspicion that shared franchises may be the small market model of the future. Shad is just a little ahead of the game.

What that will do for fan support/loyalty is anyone's guess.

What that will do?

The team would become nomads wandering from one stadium to the next, because what city is going to put funding together for a NFL-caliber stadium that doesn't have a franchise committed to play there? They'll either play in run-down, outdated facility in desperate need of repair, or lease/inhabit a stadium used by another team, either NFL or NCAA.

You'll see a lot like the Chargers - undersized stadium, no home support, no diehard fanbase willing to buy season tickets (or later, PSLs) year in and year out, and eventually the team wanders to the next stop where more of those missing boxes are checked.

We probably end up the Orlando Jags at best if TIAA is ever torn down.

Not only that, but who will show up to watch a team which is a perennial loser? Only us. There's no where to go, Shad. You belong here. Forever!

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I have a suspicion that shared franchises may be the small market model of the future. Shad is just a little ahead of the game.

What that will do for fan support/loyalty is anyone's guess.

What that will do?

The team would become nomads wandering from one stadium to the next, because what city is going to put funding together for a NFL-caliber stadium that doesn't have a franchise committed to play there? They'll either play in run-down, outdated facility in desperate need of repair, or lease/inhabit a stadium used by another team, either NFL or NCAA.

You'll see a lot like the Chargers - undersized stadium, no home support, no diehard fanbase willing to buy season tickets (or later, PSLs) year in and year out, and eventually the team wanders to the next stop where more of those missing boxes are checked.

We probably end up the Orlando Jags at best if TIAA is ever torn down.

I'm not advocating it or saying it's a good thing, I'm saying these owners don't think like you and I do. The biggest percentage of the financial pie comes from the TV deals, merchandising and corporate sponsorships. Game attendance , while not an afterthought, is not as important as it once was. The merchandising and corporate sponsorships are where the small market teams are at a disadvantage so you're going to see "outsourcing" of games to larger markets to expand those revenue streams. Jax to London, Buffalo to Toronto, Nashville to Mexico City, maybe Cincinnati to Japan (or whatever). Doubt it would ever exceed a couple of games though, if it did it would have many of the negative consequences you mentioned. It might have those consequences anyway.

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I'm condescending. That means I talk down to you.

What that will do?

The team would become nomads wandering from one stadium to the next, because what city is going to put funding together for a NFL-caliber stadium that doesn't have a franchise committed to play there? They'll either play in run-down, outdated facility in desperate need of repair, or lease/inhabit a stadium used by another team, either NFL or NCAA.

You'll see a lot like the Chargers - undersized stadium, no home support, no diehard fanbase willing to buy season tickets (or later, PSLs) year in and year out, and eventually the team wanders to the next stop where more of those missing boxes are checked.

We probably end up the Orlando Jags at best if TIAA is ever torn down.

I'm not advocating it or saying it's a good thing, I'm saying these owners don't think like you and I do. The biggest percentage of the financial pie comes from the TV deals, merchandising and corporate sponsorships. Game attendance , while not an afterthought, is not as important as it once was. The merchandising and corporate sponsorships are where the small market teams are at a disadvantage so you're going to see "outsourcing" of games to larger markets to expand those revenue streams. Jax to London, Buffalo to Toronto, Nashville to Mexico City, maybe Cincinnati to Japan (or whatever). Doubt it would ever exceed a couple of games though, if it did it would have many of the negative consequences you mentioned. It might have those consequences anyway.

Yes this is why the weird 17 game season rumors come in.  The extra 9th home game for half the league will be based around this concept.  NFL is looking to over expose the league and whip on the smaller markets to prop up this stuff. NFL is made for TV viewing and easiest to watch on TV so they will grow out those options as well.  Internet contributions and plans to migrate the ticket sales.  Going to be more halve and halve nots and you know where we are lining up.

Honestly it would just be great if they would work towards an enjoyable team that gave us a chance year in and year out.  This once a decade bleeping nonsense is awful.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

No [BLEEP], mark.

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