The future of the Georgia-Florida rivalry has been settled, with both schools announcing an agreement on the continuation of the series.
The 2026 and 2027 games will be played at neutral site venues, with Atlanta hosting in 2026 and Tampa doing so in 2027. The high likelihood of this scenario was previously reported by the AJC. The series will return to Jacksonville in 2028 once stadium renovations have been completed.
The deal with Jacksonville runs through the 2031 season.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks put out a statement on the announcement.
“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,” said J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics for the University of Georgia Josh Brooks. “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.”
The current series between the rivals will be played in Jacksonville through the 2025 season.
The NFL approved stadium renovations in Jacksonville that will cost $1.4 billion and take more than two seasons to complete. The current stadium will have a reduced capacity in 2026 and will be unusable during the 2027 season.
The new stadium in Jacksonville would seat 71,500 for Georgia-Florida games. The stadium also hopes to be a part of future College Football Playoffs with the upgrades and renovations.
The city of Jacksonville gives a $1.5 million payment to each school as a part of the current contract, along with taking care of travel and lodging expenses. The schools also split the ticket revenue, with Georgia making about $6 million total from the weekend.
Georgia and Florida have met annually in Jacksonville dating back to 1933. The only exceptions came in 1943 due to World War II and in the 1994 and 1995 seasons as the stadium was being renovated. Those games were played in Athens and Gainesville, Florida, with Florida winning both games.
The Bulldogs have controlled the rivalry of late, winning six of the eight contests played since 2016. That was Smart’s first year in Athens.
The Georgia head coach had previously been a proponent of playing the game as a home-and-home due to the extra home recruiting weekend gained. However, the revenue potential made it unlikely for home-and-home to be considered.
“It’s been talked about and debated for a long time — for a while, since we’ve known the Jacksonville renovation was going to occur,” Smart said earlier this week. “I think the parties involved did a great job of managing it. I think Jacksonville did a great job stepping up and making it worthwhile for both universities. I’m excited about the opportunity to play at two different locations, so that’ll be unique. Maybe we learn from those two experiences.”
The announcement did not state how much each school would get as part of the new deal. Florida coach Billy Napier specifically pointed to money as to why the game will not be played as a home-and-home.
“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. “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.”
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