When owner Shad Khan first volunteered to have the Jaguars play in London every year, the team stressed it would be good for the bottom line.
In 2013, the Jaguars game in London accounted for 15.3 percent f their local revenue, twice the revenue for a game played in Jacksonville.
As it turns out, the game is no longer that lucrative.
Team president Mark Lamping recently told Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post, who worked in Jacksonville for the Florida Times-Union when the team started playing in London, that the percentage of local revenue has been dropping since then.
It dropped to 12.4 percent in 2015, 11.1 percent in 2016 and 11 percent in 2017 and this year will be in the high single digits or less than 10 percent.
He said the drop in percentage is because the team has raised revenue in Jacksonville with new productions and s stadium renovation and the value of the pound compared to the dollar has dropped. A pound was worth $1.60 in 2013 and is now worth $1.30.
Despite the dropping percentage, the Jaguars seem committed to playing every year in London.
But it begs the question of whether the game will put them at a competitive disadvantage if they become a contender.
This year the Jaguars are the only team that will play just seven of their 17 games at their home stadium.
Although home field advantage in the NFL isn’t what it once was, it will be interesting to compare what the Jaguars record will be in their 7 home games compared to their 10 road games, including the London game, which counts as a home game.
This year, it may not make much of a difference because the team is still in a rebuilding mode. In two years when the team should be a contender, we’ll see if it makes a difference.