By: Robert Craft

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Trevor Lawrence has been on the NFL radar since he was in High School at Cartersville, GA.

It is a foregone conclusion that he’ll be joining one of the league’s most faceless teams. Lawrence enters the NFL as the surest thing since the last sure thing, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

Add Lawrence with three-time national champion head coach Urban Meyer, and suddenly the Jacksonville Jaguars have a chance to turn things around in a span of a few months.

The Jaguars have long been one of the first names to be mentioned when it comes to relocations. According to Jacksonville Business Journal, the Jaguars attendance was way down before the pandemic. Despite a passionate city around them, owner Shad Khan has looked into the ideas about playing overseas.

Now, the talk of Lawrence changes everything as Khan appears ready to invest in Jacksonville.

The city and Khan have recently reached an agreement to update parking. Jacksonville historically is not a professional sports town, but this vote has it trending in the right direction.

The best comparison for the Jaguars is the 1998 Colts, who drafted Peyton Manning first overall. Just like the 98 Colts, the Jaguars need a face of the franchise. They need an identity.

Khan has long championed a Lot J deal as a catalyst to the development of Downtown Jacksonville.

Khan hopes the stadium and surrounding area will become the centerpiece of a revitalized downtown, bringing hotels, restaurants, office space and housing with it.

Lawrence is coming to Jacksonville at what is the tail end of a year long quarantine that has altered business plans of every retailer in the world.

Lawrence has a unique opportunity that could make him and the City of Jacksonville the best ‘buy low’ proposition in sports history.

With most stadiums empty or mostly empty last season due to the COVID Pandemic, the Jaguars actually finished second in the league in attendance despite having the 1-15 record.

When the Jaguars hired Meyer and had the top selection in the upcoming draft (Trevor Lawrence), they raised season ticket prices by 7.2%. The team just announced that the 2021 season will involve a normal stadium experience as the Jaguars will host a full crowd.

Also, the Jaguars currently do not have an agreement with the league to play a home game in London, as they have from 2013-2019.

The team said demand for 2021 season tickets is “at an extreme high.”

Shad Khan purchased the team in 2011 for 770 million dollars. Forbes value the Jaguars at 2.45 billion dollars with a 14% increase in value since January 2021. That increase is not due to fans in the seats, it is due to the team drafting Lawrence.

Add all this up and there is a subsequent event setting up in Jacksonville. One that can change the fortunes of the Jaguars and City of Jacksonville.

Few players in NFL history have this much pressure riding on them. The marriage between Lawrence and the Jaguars begins with big expectations, and that’s what Jacksonville needs for the next decade and beyond.