How much will Georgia and Florida make in new deal keeping rival football games in Jacksonville?
Georgia football’s annual football rivalry games with Florida is set for six additional years, including in Jacksonville in 2028-2031, when both schools' payout will increase significantly.
The City of Jacksonville is guaranteeing a minimum of $10 million to each school for each of the 2028 and 2029 seasons. The minimum guarantee goes up to $10.5 million for each school in both the 2030 and 2031 seasons.
Those figures are according to financial terms between the schools and the City of Jacksonville as outlined in a memorandum of understanding released by the city to the Athens Banner-Herald on Friday, hours after the extended deal was announced.
Georgia is believed to make between $5 to $5.5 million annually for the game now.
Georgia-Florida will be played in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026 and Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in 2027 while EverBank Stadium undergoes major renovations. The game has been played annually in Jacksonville since 1933 except for two years when the stadium also underwent construction.
Both Georgia and Florida will also receive $1.5 million by the City of Jacksonville during the 2026 and 2027 seasons for a total of $3 million each.
Georgia will receive an annual travel stiped of $350,000 and Florida will get $60,000 for the 2028-2031 games.
“We do want to emphasize that this agreement structure is different than in years past, however, it provides the opportunity for the game to be profitable for the city as we now keep all the revenue for tickets, concessions, etc.,” Phillip Perry, chief communications officer for the City Of Jacksonville, said in an email.
Perry said the next step “is negotiating the details of the official agreement and then taking that to city council for approval. Timing just depends on how long the negotiation process takes.”
Other details from the MOU:
— Each school must purchase a minimum of 25,000 (and up to 30,000) tickets for each game in Jacksonville at varying price levels to be agreed upon without additional fees. The city will manage ticket inventory, pricing and distribution.
— Ticket price averages shall be the greater of $250 or the average ticket price from the alternate site games in 2026 and 2027. Each school receives at least 1,000 parking spaces per year with additional spaces to purchase.
— The schools control the game mark for the 2026 and 2027 games and may agree with the alternate site on a different game mark and a presenting sponsor, according to an MOU.
— The city of Jacksonville will still hold its Georgia/Florida Hall of Fame Luncheon and induction ceremony at the alternate site.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: What Jacksonville is paying Georgia football for future games vs Florida