I know this has been causing a bit of controversy, so I thought I'd transcribe Brian Sexton's "mistake" comments from the other day.


I took them to mean the NFL's interests could have been better served back in 1993 by waiting and putting a franchise in a bigger market. And that Jacksonville got lucky when it won the right to have a franchise. 

BUT I didn't take that to mean the franchise itself is viewed as a "mistake" and his point is that Jacksonville needs to be flexible and do whatever it can to take advantage of that decision and make sure it keeps the team in Jacksonville.

I think he's going to come in for some stick for saying it.  And I think it's going to be a hard one to explain. But I think I can see where he's coming from.
Here's what he said...

"The NFL made a mistake in 1993 when they gave the franchise to Jacksonville, Florida. Because it set in motion a chain of dominoes that moved teams out of bigger markets, right. Do you want to make the mistake and give it back? Right? I mean St Louis and Baltimore didn't have all of their pieces, all of their ducks in a row. And Jacksonville was opportunistic and got something that by all rights it probably shouldn't have had. And they knew that by the year 2000. They knew, Ok, LA is vacant. If we hadn't given a team here, here and here, they were able to piece things together... Don't make that mistake. The Jaguars are HERE. And we are fortunate that the NFL put a franchise here. Don't compound the mistake and be so rigid in your way of understanding how this league works that you don't see that they're working to do it in a way that puts this team and this town together long term."

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I'll respond because hey you went to the effort..... And sure there are other similar threads but let's go....

I understand what he is saying from the context of the business of the NFL. They had more of a league think mentality predating the current state of the league. Of course the league realizes they screwed up with making more money. But honestly does anyone really believe that the LA Market is going to be a hot ticket with fans clamoring to support 2 teams? When you look at everything, it doesn't really matter where they put teams because of the TV contract. You have whole new business models when TV just doesn't mean as much as it use to. Do we really believe the league of the 1990's would think a day would come where young fans would watch games on hand held devices wherever they wanted and whenever they wanted?

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

The fact that he would even speak that way is absolutely disgusting. To hell with him

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I don't think they made a mistake in the context of 1993 when the league was much different than it is today. Today, small market teams are getting squeezed more and more. It doesn't mean they're not profitable it just means the revenue disparity between the large markets and small markets is increasing. This has very little to do with fan support or game attendance and has everything to do with corporate sponsorships, advertising and merchandising. The NFL is turning into the MLB. Jacksonville isn't the only city that will feel it, it's the future of small markets in general.

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

I don't think they made a mistake in the context of 1993 when the league was much different than it is today. Today, small market teams are getting squeezed more and more. It doesn't mean they're not profitable it just means the revenue disparity between the large markets and small markets is increasing. This has very little to do with fan support or game attendance and has everything to do with corporate sponsorships, advertising and merchandising. The NFL is turning into the MLB. Jacksonville isn't the only city that will feel it, it's the future of small markets in general.

^^ This

Here in Dallas, Juruh moved the practice facilities out of Valley Ranch near the stadium to Frisco Texas.  They are leveraging partnerships and magnifying the local revenue.  Valley Ranch made sense because it was near the actual stadium but the move is raking in the cash as the area is exploding with growth and corporate partners.  This area is a cash cow and small markets can never compete.  The Jax ownership asked for development is an example of keeping up with the joneses activity.

It makes me sick that where I live along the 380 corridor is the future home of the PGA moving from North Florida to the DFW monster.  Local fans can't make up for this stuff and the NFL doesn't care.

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The Khan Years

Patience, Persistence, and Piss Poor General Managers.

I think I agree with all of that. And the point about the world being very different in 1993 is a very good one.

What I think is annoying some people is the suggestion that the Jaguars themselves are a "mistake" and as I said, I really don't think that was the point he was trying to make.

At least the way the league is set up, with spending limits, the super-rich teams can't out-spend their opponents (like they can in European soccer). And I think the danger is more that the NFL itself might feel it's not getting the most out of its Jacksonville franchise and will put the squeeze on Shad to make more money out of it. That might explain his eagerness to rise up the money-making league table.

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Every single NFL owner is v profitable. There isn't anything the NFL can do if Shad decides the current amount of money he's making is good with him.

But, like most super rich people , Shad wants to make more and more profit and he thinks the best way to do that is to play the London card as long as possible regardless of how the fans feel because it makes him money. There isn't much more to it than that

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The NFL is a business. The smaller the market. The smaller the profits. The larger the market. The larger the profits. Plus more space to advertise and snap up revenue.

Financially, on a grand scale business wise, it would appear it was a mistake to move a team here. But hindsight is 20/20. 1993 this looked like a good idea. Hell, back in the 1970s and 1980s it was a better idea at that time. It could have given this city an opportunity to harness another generation or two of true fans born and raised here.

Timing is everything. I will say this though. Market size is only as good as the people and competitors within those said markets. L.A is already struggling with the Chargers. And if the Rams don't start picking up pace at a Superbowl level? They'll start struggling too. New stadium or not. Nobody wants to shell out the money to witness mediocre teams or products or below mediocre teams and products in MOST markets.

Why would I want to pay for a Rams or Chargers game when I can pay for a baseball game during the better months of the year? Or for a basketball game that's indoors. Especially when it's a historic team that now has LeBron James on it? That's exactly how people weigh out their disposable income. London is obviously more profitable. But for how long?

How long can you seriously keep a team in that market? With the logistics as well of the away / home team schedule. It's a lot to ask of 31 other teams. And how long will London put up with this same mediocre product that Shad Khan has subjected this city too? Does London really want to shell out the pounds to watch a [BLEEP] 38 - 90 club?

Doubt it. They'll get a free pass the first two years. After that? You better be cracking double digits and at least sniffing the play-off race in November every year after that. Or do you pimp this team out and let them become the London Silly Nannies so bigger teams can come over and blow them out? Would be like modern day Gladiator games being overseen and engineered by some of Rome's most sadistic emperors in it's history.

All of that for what? To add another $1B to your already behemoth profits of roughly what? $22B last year or headed in that direction by 2025 at least? If they move this team. GOOD [BLEEP] RIDDANCE TO ANYTHING NFL RELATED. At least for me. Leave our name at least. Leave our colors. Leave our history. Start over there if it pleases you.

But this could be the very slow death pill of poison that hurts the NFL in the long run. Can't have an owner over here while he's hood winking (miserably failing by the way) us locals and then hoping to dip his dick in London's honey pot too. 2 games in 2020. 4 games in 2022 at the minimum. Which market wants to pay out the most for his mediocre products? It's a game of chicken [BLEEP] that the NFL wants to turn into chicken salad.

Disgusting display of greed.

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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."

We may be overlooking the obvious.

High achievers want to lap the competition. Once they lap the competition, they want to do it again and again, and again... and faster. They are driven to be not only their personal best, but better than their peers (if there are any.)

It's possible he's raising his personal bar (or perhaps hasn't even met his expectations yet.)

I don't think this has anything at all to do with satisfying the NFL or anyone else other than himself. And I'm certain that whatever fans believe is "profitable" or "enough" doesn't even exist in his world. He bought the company he worked for coming out of college and built it into something much larger. He didn't buy the Jaguars to sit back and skim profit, or gaze at his unrealized change in franchise value. He's looking at something bigger, something more. And it's obvious he's taking the lead among his peers in doing business in London with this franchise.

He's dreaming bigger. Can and will Jacksonville do the same? Will this dream, and this journey, be shared or not?

That's the question.

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"You do your own thing in your own time. You should be proud."