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Florida and Georgia will play the first leg of their historic college football rivalry’s two-game, two-year road trip in Atlanta on Saturday—for the small price of $18 million.
Both schools are each receiving $9 million for this year’s neutral site game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium: $7.5 million from venue owner AMB Sports and Entertainment and $1.5 million from the city of Jacksonville, as EverBank Stadium is at reduced capacity this fall, undergoing a $1.4 billion renovation project. Florida and Georgia will receive similar payments next year when the matchup is played in Tampa and EverBank Stadium is closed ahead of its 2028 reopening.
“This is always a great tradition, a great game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said this week. “Obviously the venue has changed. I don’t think that matters much to the team’s playing in it. For the fan base, it’s probably a unique experience for sure.”
Tickets, which were split equally between fan bases, are sold out. But first-year Florida coach Jon Sumrall is still approaching this as a “road-ish” game. “I think you have to know that Atlanta’s not necessarily our backyard,” he said. “But the 50/50 thing is a unique deal that I think is exciting for our guys because you’re in a different environment than a normal SEC game, which is fun.”
The only other time Florida-Georgia games weren’t played in Jacksonville, 1994 and 1995 due to the construction of the Jaguars’ stadium at the site of the old Gator Bowl, the rivals met in Athens and Gainesville. But the opportunity to cash in at other neutral-site NFL stadiums was too much to pass up this time around.
When the game returns to Jacksonville in 2028, Florida and Georgia will each be guaranteed at least $10 million per matchup.
What’s In a Name?
Traditionally known as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, this year’s Florida-Georgia matchup is going by a less fun and more corporate name: the Invesco QQQ Atlanta Gridiron Classic.
The branding is thanks to a deal between financial firm Invesco and AMBSE. Last year’s Georgia–Georgia Tech game—for which AMBSE paid the Yellow Jackets $10 million to move their biennial home contest against the Bulldogs to Mercedes-Benz Stadium—was the first event of the Atlanta Gridiron Classic series.
Florida-Georgia’s temporary move is also part of a larger neutral site trend in college football.
Auburn also moved its home game against Baylor to Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season. Notre Dame’s Shamrock Series saw the Fighting Irish play Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay last month, and on Saturday Notre Dame–Navy will be at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Virginia and West Virginia played in Charlotte last month as part of the Duke’s Mayo Classic. UNC and TCU played in this year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin.
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