Jacksonville paying top dollar to keep Georgia-Florida rivalry in town

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s less than 24 hours out from the 2024 matchup of Georgia and Florida, but the future is what’s biggest in the news today. Announced on Friday, the two schools have a contract in place to return to Jacksonville after stadium construction concludes in 2028.

According to Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald, the city of Jacksonville guarantees Georgia and Florida $10 million each in 2028 and 2029, rising to $10.5 million for the final two years of the new agreement in 20230 and 2031. Jacksonville will also pay the two schools $1.5 million – the amount guaranteed to them under the current contract – during the two seasons the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party will be forced out of Duval County. In 2026, Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) will host the rivalry game before Tampa (Raymond James Stadium) does so in 2027.

“The annual Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville is one of the greatest traditions in college sports, and we are excited the game will return to EverBank Stadium in 2028,” Georgia athletics director Josh Brooks shared in a statement on Friday. “We are fortunate to have a pair of exceptional venues in Atlanta and Tampa that will host the game for the next two years as the Georgia-Florida matchup joins a long line of major events to take place in those two cities, which have hosted both the Super Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship. Our goal, as always, is to create a first-class experience for our student-athletes, staff and fans, and this temporary move, along with the stadium renovations in Jacksonville, will only enhance the storied Georgia-Florida rivalry.”

“We are honored to extend the time-honored tradition of the Georgia-Florida rivalry game in Jacksonville for four more years. It is the result of many months of close collaboration with our partners at the University of Florida and the University of Georgia,” added Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan. “There is shared excitement by all parties for the game to return to Jacksonville in the Stadium of the Future, which will be a world-class stadium that meets NFL standards, starting in 2028. We are grateful that this matchup will continue bringing our communities together to celebrate college football and drive economic impact.”

Georgia and Florida have played annually in Jacksonville every year since 1933 with three exceptions. One year (1943) the game didn’t occur due to World War II while the 1994 and 1995 games were played on campus in Gainesville and Athens due to stadium construction for the city’s new professional football team.

The location of the rivalry game has long been a talking point though. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart understands the benefits of playing in Jacksonville, including the payment from the city, the expected $4.2 million in ticket revenue plus the coverage of travel costs ($350,000). However, to him, having it on campus would add the ability to host recruits for the rivalry game.

“There’s really quality benefits to both,” Smart ahead of a Georgia-Florida matchup in 2022 when asked about playing on campus as opposed to at a neutral site. “You guys, I get it, you want to make a story. You need a story. Everybody wants to talk about it. It’s really not a big debate for me. It’s been made really big by the media because they’ve made it out to be a really big deal. I enjoy the pageantry of going down there and playing. I enjoyed it as a player. I enjoy tradition. I enjoy all those things.”

“Don’t really even think about it anymore,” he added last season. “We are where we are. That really has not even crossed my mind besides the offseason when I get asked about it. A lot more concerned with how we play than where we play.”

Asked about whether an on-campus home and home was considered for the two-year time out of Jacksonville, Florida head coach Billy Napier said the financial impact of playing at a neutral site was too much for the schools to pass up on, and the return to Jacksonville only further proves his point.

“Kirby and I both agree that it would be awesome to play a home-and-home but we also know that there’s a tremendous amount of revenue created by having this game at a neutral site,” Napier said after Smart sidestepped the question, choosing to talk about the focus he has on the upcoming matchup against the Gators instead of those down the road. “Money makes the world go round and certainly, the amount of revenue, there’s a significant difference in the revenue that’s generated. We play in Jacksonville, there’s a historical context to that but there’s also a revenue component as well. I think the neutral site will present the same revenue opportunities and ultimately why the decision was made.”

All-time, Georgia owns a 56-44-2 record in the series against Florida, winning the last two and six of eight under the direction of Kirby Smart. This year’s game between the Bulldogs and Gators kicks off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. UGA enters as more than two-touchdown favorites according to VegasInsider.