Tag: shad khan

Doug Pederson: ‘We’ll probably each year play 2 games’ in London

Jaguars coach Doug Pederson doesn’t think 2023 will be the last time his team makes a two-weekend trip to London.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ extended trip to London was a success for the team. They arrived in the United Kingdom with a 1-2 record following a pair of losses, but return to the United States at 3-2 after back-to-back wins overseas.

No NFL team had played multiple games out of the country in the same season before, let alone in consecutive weeks. But Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson doesn’t think it’ll be the last time it happens for his squad.

“I think it’s relatively safe to say that we’ll probably each year play two games over here,” Pederson said Sunday after a 25-20 win against the Buffalo Bills. “I don’t know that. I don’t have a crystal ball. I hope the rest of the league plays two games over here at some point.

“But again, it was good for us, and it was good to get out of Jacksonville at that time. We needed to, I think, bond a little bit as a football team, and we’ve done that.”

The Jaguars have played an annual home game in London since 2013 (with the exception of 2020 when international games were cancelled due to COVID). Their contract to play a game every year at Wembley Stadium ends in 2024, but Jaguars owner Shad Khan isn’t ready for the partnership to end.

“Hopefully we’ll get this thing renewed,” Khan said last week, via Jaguars.com. “It’s been great for the city of Jacksonville. It’s great for the players. It’s been great for us.”

If the Jaguars continue to cede home games to the United Kingdom, it only makes sense for the team to do more two-weekend ventures to London by adding road game to the annual trips.

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Shad Khan wants more back-to-back London games if 2023 works well

Shad Khan hopes the Jaguars have more back-to-back London trips in the future, so long as 2023 works out well.

The Jacksonville Jaguars won at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, beating the Atlanta Falcons in a “home” game, 23-7. Now comes the uncharted territory.

Instead of flying back to the United States like the Falcons, the Jaguars will be the first team ever to stay overseas for another international game. Up next is a Week 5 “road” game against the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Jaguars will need to change hotels, but the hope for the team is that the pair of games makes for an easier trip as opposed to a weekend roundtrip across the Atlantic. And if it works out well, team owner Shad Khan likes the idea of making it an annual two-game trip.

“What’s great is that some of our fans couldn’t make it this week, they can come from Duval next week,” Khan told Brent Martineau of Action Sports Jax on Sunday. “Also, the fans we have in London, U.K., and Europe, it’s another way for us to connect with them and really develop the Jaguars, Jacksonville brand here in the U.K.

“I think we want to see how it goes, what are some of the learnings from it, and I think if it works, we’d like for it to continue in the future.”

The Jaguars have played a home game in London every season since 2013, with the exception of 2020 when all international games were cancelled due to COVID. The team has six games at EverBank Stadium left on the 2023 schedule.

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Jaguars VP Tony Khan denies report of interest in Bellator MMA

Tony Khan says there’s no truth to a report that he and his dad are interested in purchasing Bellator MMA.

Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president Tony Khan vehemently denied a report that he and his father, Jaguars owner Shad Khan, are a party interested in purchasing Bellator MMA.

“I was surprised to see that report,” Tony Khan said, in part, via mixed martial arts reporter Jed I. Goodman. “I haven’t had any conversations with them about that, so I don’t know what that was about. My father hasn’t had any conversations with them either. I’m not even sure who you talked to. I don’t even know, honestly, who owns the promotion. Is Scott Coker the owner? Or the president? I’m not sure.”

On Wednesday, MMA reporter Ariel Helwani said on his show, The MMA Hour, that the Khan family were among the interested parties in Bellator.

“I can also tell you that the Khan family has looked into [Bellator],” Helwani reported on the show. “To what degree is unclear.”

Bellator MMA is a promotion that has existed since 2008 and is currently owned by Paramount Global. It is reportedly in talks to be sold with Professional Fighters League (PFL) among the favorites to acquire the organization.

In addition to the Jaguars, the Khans own Fulham Football Club of the English Premier League and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Tony Khan serves as the president of AEW and has multiple executive titles with Fulham F.C.

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Jaguars granted international marketing rights in Ireland

The Jaguars plan to win over some fans in Ireland.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have spent a decade growing their brand in the United Kingdom and will now expand those efforts to include Ireland.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced an expansion of its Global Markets Program (previously known as International Home Marketing Areas) to 21 teams sharing rights in 14 markets.

The Jaguars will share rights in Ireland with the Pittsburgh Steelers, as both teams are now allowed to build their brand in the country.

“Since we arrived in London in 2013, we have made great strides in growing the Jaguars fan community outside of the United States with a committed and loyal supporter base already established across the country,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “Our Foundation reaches tens of thousands of young people each year through the delivery of community programs like JagTag and is committed to providing sustainable solutions to tackle inequality and to support the development of young people.

“I am delighted to be able to announce that we are expanding our marketing rights into the Republic of Ireland, which not only underpins our long-term commitment to the UK but presents us with the opportunity to amplify our trajectory of growth internationally. The Republic is famous for its love of American Football, therefore appealing to new Jaguars fans through meaningful fan engagement and bespoke initiatives that will contribute to communities in the Republic, will truly reflect the Jaguars position as an international NFL team.”

In 1997, a preseason game between the Steelers and Chicago Bears was held at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland, but the league hasn’t been back and has never placed a regular season game there.

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Watch: Jaguars call Anton Harrison to tell him he’s the No. 27 pick

Doug Pederson, Trent Baalke, and Shad Khan were all excited to talk to their new draft pick when they made the call Thursday.

There were only a handful of draft picks left to be made Thursday night when Anton Harrison’s phone rang. On the other end were the Jacksonville Jaguars, ready to pick the offensive tackle with the No. 27 pick after trading down twice.

Harrison first spoke to director of player assessment Ryan Stamper who then handed the phone off to head coach Doug Pederson, general manager Trent Baalke, and team owner Shad Khan.

Harrison is the fourth offensive tackle ever drafted in the first round by the Jaguars, joining Tony Boselli, Eugene Monroe, and Luke Joeckel, who were all top 10 picks. All three tackles who started for the Jaguars in 2022 — Cam Robinson, Jawaan Taylor, and Walker Little — were second round selections.

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Forbes: Jaguars owner Shad Khan got 60 percent richer in last year

Shad Khan saw his net worth increase by more than $4 billion in the last year, according to Forbes.

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan saw his net worth climb from $7.6 billion to $12.1 billion in the last year, according to Forbes’ annual list of the richest people in the world.

The 59.2 percent increase made Khan No. 144 on the list and makes him the fifth richest NFL owner behind the Denver Broncos’ Rob Walton, the Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper, the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, and the Los Angeles Rams’ Stan Kroenke.

Khan, 72, purchased the Jaguars in 2011 for $770 million. The team is now valued at more than $3.4 billion by Forbes.

Also increasing in value is Fulham Football Club, which was purchased by Khan in 2013. The club was promoted to the English Premier League last year and is currently in 10th place.

Additionally, Khan and his son, Tony Khan, founded All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2019.

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Shad Khan: Losing players in free agency is a ‘measure of success’

The Jaguars lost Jawaan Taylor and Arden Key in free agency, but owner Shad Khan is looking on the bright side.

It’s been more than a decade since the Jacksonville Jaguars received a compensatory draft pick, but that’s finally set to change after the team lost Jawaan Taylor and Arden Key in free agency.

The Jaguars now face the challenge of shoring up their offensive line depth and bolstering their pass rush, but owner Shad Khan is looking on the bright side. Losing free agents rather than adding them is a change of pace that he says is a sign that the franchise is in a much different place.

“You know, I hated to see [Taylor] leave, but that’s really a measure of success that you can’t hang on to all your players,” Khan told John Oehser of Jaguars.com during an interview at the NFL owners meetings this week. “Obviously, the skill, the trick is to replace them, hopefully, with better players. We’ve got the draft, primarily, to develop players for the future and a system that is sustainable.”

A year ago, the Jaguars spent a record-breaking amount of money to acquire several players in free agency, including Christian Kirk, Foye Oluokun, Brandon Scherff, and Evan Engram.

This year, the team has mostly tried to keep its own players, re-signing C.J. Beathard, JaMycal Hasty, Andrew Wingard, Adam Gotsis, and Tre Herndon. The only outside players added were a trio of cheap additions: D’Ernest Johnson, Michael Dogbe, and Henry Mondeaux.

Khan is correct that it’s usually the NFL’s more successful teams that lose talented players in free agency. Now it’s up to the Jaguars to continue to add talent by drafting well.

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Shad Khan: Jaguars are committed to long-term London connection

Shad Khan says the Jaguars’ annual trip to London isn’t going to stop happening anytime soon.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have played a game in London every year since 2013 with the exception of 2020 when no games were played internationally due to COVID. The team also has a deal in place to play games at Wembley Stadium in 2023 and 2024.

Jaguars owner Shad Khan doesn’t seem interested in ending that partnership any time soon either.

“I think we’ve moved the needle in a good way,” Khan said in an interview posted Wednesday by Jaguars UK. “Typically, in an international game you’ll see all 32 jerseys represented in the fanbase. But last year’s game was phenomenal for many aspects. One was, look at the crowd. There were a lot more Jaguars jerseys. So it tells me we’ve connected, we’ve moved the needle, and we’ve got a really active enthusiastic fanbase here.

“We’re committed to London. It’s been great for us, and it’s been great for our fans, it’s been great for Jacksonville. … We’re going to be at Wembley [Stadium] for the long-term. How many total games? I think we’re going to take it maybe year by year, but certainly long-term. That trend is gonna continue.”

While Khan is pleased with the Jaguars’ growing presence overseas, the annual game away from Jacksonville isn’t popular with all of the team’s fans. Many are frustrated that the team consistently moves one of its precious few home games away from North Florida.

Those complaints evidently haven’t caused Khan to reconsider the arrangement. And it looks like the Jaguars games at Wembley Stadium remain in the team’s plans for the foreseeable future.

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Shad Khan: Doug Pederson leads by ‘practicing what he’s preaching’

Shad Khan says Doug Pederson “walks the walk” and that’s why players trust him.

Doug Pederson’s first season with the Jacksonville Jaguars will be remembered as an absolute success, regardless how the newly crowned AFC South champions do in the postseason.

After a 2-6 start to his first season in Jacksonville, Pederson led an incredible turnaround with the Jaguars winning seven games after October to surge into the playoff field. The team’s current five-game winning streak is the longest for the franchise since 2005.

Players have clearly bought into Pederson’s philosophies and Jaguars owner Shad Khan says it’s because they come from a genuine place.

“It’s practicing what he’s preaching,” Khan told reporters after the team’s Saturday night win vs. the Titans, via 1010XL. “He walks the walk and never gets too high or too low. His whole approach is to help players get better. So I think obviously all of us are really proud to know him and what he’s done.”

Pederson, 54, previously spent five seasons as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, leading the team to a 42-37-1 record in the regular season as well as a win in Super Bowl LII.

In a locker room speech Saturday night, Jaguars safety Andrew Wingard thanked Pederson for the “calming” and “peaceful” confidence that comes with his leadership.

Watch: Jaguars celebrate AFC South championship in locker room

“You’re AFC South champs, baby”

The Jacksonville Jaguars are AFC South champions after a dramatic, come-from-behind victory Saturday night.

It was a fitting conclusion to an unlikely comeback story for the Jaguars that began two months ago when the 2-6 team was trying to keep hope alive. After battling to a 4-8 record, Jacksonville finished its season with five straight wins.

While the Saturday night victory was far from pretty, belief in Jacksonville is sky high after the 20-16 win. And the Jaguars locker room was ecstatic after accomplishing its goal.

In addition to coach Doug Pederson addressing the team, owner Shad Khan spoke after he was awarded an AFC South champs game ball. Finishing up the speeches was safety Andrew Wingard, who has emerged as a leader and fan favorite in his fourth NFL season.

When it wasn’t speech time, there was plenty of dancing and cigars for the division champs.

The Jaguars will host the Los Angeles Chargers or Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round next weekend.