Florida taking home a wild amount of money for playing UGA in Atlanta

In 2026 and 2027, the Florida Gators will not be making their annual pilgrimage to Jacksonville to face Georgia as EverBank Stadium is set to undergo renovations. 2026 will be played in Atlanta, while 2027 will be played in Tampa.

If one wants to know why the two schools aren't just playing at home sites while Jacksonville gets a facelift, it turns out there are $7.5 million reasons why.

Florida Gators set to get a raise by playing in Atlanta

The Florida-Georgia series made its home in Jacksonville in 1944 out of convenience, but it has stayed ultimately due to money.

Most estimates believe Florida and Georgia are paid over $5 million each annually by the city of Jacksonville to keep the game a neutral site rather than at home sites.

If you think $5 million is a lot, Marc Weiszer at the Athens Banner-Herald reported yesterday that the city of Atlanta is going to pay both Florida and Georgia $7.5 million to play the game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026.

That's on top of the city of Jacksonville also paying $1.5 million in 2026, despite the fact that the game won't be played there.

According to Weiszer, when the game does return to Jacksonville in 2028, both teams are set to make over $10 million annually from the game.

Money over everything

As Josh Pate points out, college football has this habit of having some amazing stadiums that it goes out of its way not to play in.

Kirby Smart has openly mused about wanting this series to be on home campuses, while Billy Napier has taken a more neutral approach.

But as much as Smart has stomped his feet on the issue, every man has his price, and if Jacksonville is offering north of $10 million annually, it is hard to envision the powers that be leaving money on the table, especially as college football starts to move towards a revenue-sharing model.