The Jacksonville Jaguars will venture into unfamiliar territory for an NFL team in 2023 when they play back-to-back games in London.
No team has played overseas twice in a year before, let alone two weeks in a row. While some have suggested it’s a step toward a team making a European city their full-time home, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell pumped the brakes in a Tuesday press conference.
When asked if the NFL intends to eventually have a team play three or more games internationally, Goodell said the league isn’t thinking that far ahead.
“We like to take things in increments,” Goodell told reporters. “I think one of the things we always focus on — pretty much with everything we do, but I’ll put it specifically to the international games — is to learn from our experience every year. To try something a little different and understand the impact of that.
“This is the first time we’re going to have a team stay a week and play consecutive games. I think we’ll learn from that and that’s the intent of it, ultimately. To see what’s the impact to the Jaguars, in this case. We’ll evaluate that after we’re done. At some point, would we try three? Possibly. But I think the focus is to try to do two and see what the impact is first, and then we’ll go from there.”
The Jaguars have made in-roads in London by playing one home game there every year since 2013 (with the exception of 2020 due to COVID). However, the team is working with Jacksonville to plan a renovation of TIAA Bank Field, which would likely coincide with a lease that keeps the team in the city for the foreseeable future.
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