Jaguars to play two London games in 2026; Commanders to play one

The Jacksonville Jaguars will be the designated home team for two consecutive London games during the 2026 NFL season, with matchups scheduled at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium, the league announced on Wednesday. The pair of London fixtures comes as EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville undergoes renovations that will limit capacity and force some home games overseas. The Washington Commanders were also named the designated home team for a separate Tottenham Hotspur Stadium game in 2026. No dates or opponents have been released yet for any of the London games.

Key Takeaways

  • The Jaguars are set to be the home team for two London games in 2026, with fixtures at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium on consecutive weeks.
  • The additional London game for Jacksonville was added because EverBank Stadium is undergoing renovations for the 2026 season, and the team will operate with reduced capacity at home.
  • The Commanders have been designated the home team for one London game in 2026 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
  • The Commanders played in Spain versus the Miami Dolphins in the previous season and last hosted a London game in 2016, a tie with the Bengals.
  • The NFL has not yet announced opponents or calendar dates for any of the 2026 London games.

Background

The NFL has been staging regular-season games in London since the mid-2000s as part of a broader international expansion strategy. Teams designated as the home side for those games often remain the ‘home’ team in administrative and scheduling terms while playing overseas to help the league grow its U.K. fan base and commercial partnerships. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium have each hosted multiple NFL games in recent years and are the league’s primary London venues due to their NFL-ready facilities and capacity.

The Jaguars established a particularly strong connection to London over the past decade, playing there nearly every season as part of the team’s international outreach and marketing efforts. For 2026, the club’s temporary shift of two home dates to London is being driven by renovation work at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, which will constrain capacity and prompt the team to relocate some fixtures. The Commanders’ planned London game continues the club’s intermittent engagement with international venues following its recent trip to Spain.

Main Event

The NFL’s announcement designates Jacksonville as the home team at both Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium for consecutive weeks during the 2026 regular season. League scheduling notes that the Jaguars’ two London games are an exception to the typical single international-hosted home date for most franchises, reflecting the unusual circumstances around EverBank Stadium renovations. The team will therefore balance international duties with a shortened or reduced-capacity home slate in Jacksonville.

Washington will be the designated home club for one match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2026, marking the franchise’s return to the London stage after last appearing there in 2016. The Commanders also played in Spain in the prior season, demonstrating the NFL’s willingness to rotate teams through various international markets. The league has not provided opponents or exact calendar slots for the three London games at this time.

League officials and team representatives have characterized the move as a temporary scheduling accommodation tied to stadium work in Jacksonville, rather than a permanent relocation. Fans in Jacksonville can expect a season with fewer full-capacity home games, while London supporters will have additional opportunities to see regular-season NFL play in 2026. Broadcasters and international partners will finalize coverage details once dates and opponents are confirmed.

Analysis & Implications

For the Jaguars, two London home dates will deepen their engagement with an established international audience but also complicate in-season logistics. Back-to-back overseas games present travel and preparation challenges for players and staff, potentially affecting recovery windows and competitive routines. The team and NFL operations will need to manage practice scheduling, travel charters, and rest periods to mitigate performance risks tied to extended travel.

Economically, the decision shifts revenue that would normally flow to Jacksonville into international markets for those weeks, affecting local businesses that depend on home-game spending. Although the club may recoup some losses through neutral-site revenue sharing and international ticketing, reduced local capacity during renovations will still represent a short-term economic disruption for area vendors and season-ticket holders.

From the league perspective, the NFL continues to prioritize international growth, and giving the Jaguars two London games reinforces London as a reliable and lucrative market. For competitive balance, the NFL traditionally assigns a designated home team even when a game is overseas; however, repeated or consecutive international assignments to a single club raise questions about schedule fairness and how roster depth and travel burdens are distributed across the league.

Comparison & Data

Team Designated Home Games in London (2026)
Jacksonville Jaguars 2
Washington Commanders 1

The simple table above summarizes the league-designated home games announced for London in 2026. While many teams occasionally travel abroad for a single game, having a franchise assigned two consecutive international home dates in one season is uncommon and reflects exceptional circumstances tied to stadium availability rather than a change in policy.

Reactions & Quotes

League and club sources framed the schedule update as a pragmatic adjustment linked to stadium construction and the NFL’s ongoing international strategy. Team and league spokespeople emphasized that player welfare and competitive integrity would be priorities as dates and opponents are finalized.

The NFL characterized the move as part of its international scheduling process while noting it was accommodating Jacksonville’s stadium renovation timeline.

NFL (statement summarized via media report)

Jaguar representatives highlighted the organization’s long-running relationship with London and framed the two-game slate as an opportunity to serve their sizable U.K. fan base even as EverBank Stadium undergoes work. The team also acknowledged the inconvenience for local fans and said it would share ticketing and travel guidance as plans develop.

Jacksonville framed the double London assignment as a temporary measure tied to stadium renovations and pledged communications to affected local season-ticket holders.

Jacksonville Jaguars (team statement summarized via media report)

Unconfirmed

  • Opponents for the Jaguars and Commanders games in London have not been announced; matchups and competitive implications remain unknown.
  • Specific dates and kickoff times for the three London games are unconfirmed and will be published by the NFL in a later schedule release.
  • Details on the exact reduced capacity at EverBank Stadium during 2026 and which home dates will be relocated to London have not been disclosed.

Bottom Line

The NFL’s 2026 plan assigns Jacksonville two consecutive designated home games in London and gives Washington one, a decision driven primarily by renovation work at EverBank Stadium. The arrangement underscores the Jaguars’ deep ties to the London market and the league’s continuing emphasis on international growth, even as it creates short-term disruptions for local fans and operations in Jacksonville.

Key open items include opponents, dates, and precise capacity figures for Jacksonville’s home schedule; those details will shape the competitive and economic consequences for teams, fans, and local businesses. Readers should watch for the NFL’s formal schedule release for confirmed matchups and for official team notices about ticketing and fan accommodations.

Sources

  • NBC Sports — News outlet reporting on the NFL announcement

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