Jacksonville-based EverBank will announce Friday afternoon that it has "signed a 10-year extension to retain the stadium naming rights with the Jaguars" through the '24 season, according to sources cited in a front-page piece by Gene Frenette of the FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. The deal is "expected to exceed the average" of $3.32M per year that the Jaguars received when EverBank signed a five-year, $16.6M contract in '10 to "take over the city-owned stadium name from Alltel." That deal "expires at the end of this season." The Jaguars and EverBank have been "working on an extension for about a year" (
FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 7/25). Meanwhile, Jaguars Owner Shahid Khan said of the stadium's offseason upgrades, "It’s even better than I envisioned it. I think it’s going to raise the game day experience to a new level and it’s going to set the benchmark for what people should expect.” In Jacksonville, Ryan O'Halloran notes fans who "purchased tickets to the Jaguars’ Back to Football Luncheon on Thursday were given a tour of the cabana and pool areas after listening to remarks" from Khan, President Mark Lamping, GM Dave Caldwell and coach Gus Bradley. Khan said he stepped into the pools and “what blew me away was the view. It’s amazing.” The Jaguars have "sold 7,000 new season tickets, which ranks in the top six of the NFL," and now have "sold just under 45,000 season tickets." Jaguars Senior VP/Ticket Sales Chad Johnson: "We're having one of our best years." He added that the 20-person cabanas on the second level of the end zone improvements are "sold out for the entire regular season and only a few remain available for the two preseason games" (
FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 7/25). Also in Jacksonville, Drew Dixon notes the team expects its July 28 practice in St. Johns County to "bring in a new fan base." All 2,500 "free reservations for the Monday night event were snatched up this week for the scheduled practice." This is the "first time the team has moved a practice outside of Jacksonville for a marketing purpose" (
FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 7/25).
ALL HANDS ON DECK: Khan this morning appeared on CNBC's "Squawk Alley," and said the cabanas are a "quantum leap from the man cave and anything a football fan could imagine is here right now." He said the lower cabana deck by the pools is "about two-thirds sold out. We hope to sell that out here in the next couple of weeks." Khan added of eliminating around 9,500 seats, "We were just really over-capacitized for the market, and I think this brings us down to still about above average for NFL stadiums. We'll be at about 67,000 now" ("Squawk Alley," CNBC, 9/25).
NOT CUTTING TIES: Suspended Jaguars WR Justin Blackmon was arrested Wednesday for possession of marijuana, and the TIMES-UNION's O'Halloran notes Khan on Thursday "squashed any notion the Jaguars would cut Blackmon." He has been arrested twice since the Jaguars drafted him fifth overall in '12 and has "violated the league’s substance abuse policy multiple times and consistently shamed the franchise." Khan "disagreed with the thought the Jaguars would be alienating their fan base by remaining committed to Blackmon." Khan: “We want him to get help and really beat this. We knew he needed help" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 7/25).
