Paxety Pages

The question is the new electronic signs inside the stadium - bought and paid for by the Jaguars. The old permanent signs were the property of the Jaguars - they sold the sign space and took in the revenue. The city claims the old agreement doesn't apply to the new signs, and it plans to sign a contract with the Gator Bowl Association giving the association the right to sell ads during the January 1 Gator Bowl game.

Two days after the fact, the Times Union picks up the story.

"Based on their actions today, yes [the Jaguars will be forced to move],'' (Jaguars vice president Bill) Prescott said. "Based on the actions I've seen over the last week, yes. Obviously, if they're taking revenues away, it'll happen sooner rather than later.''

Prescott also said that if the City Council, as expected, passes an amendment in two weeks that the Gator Bowl and the city will share signage revenue at non-Jaguar events designated by the city, the Jaguars will be forced to go to court.

What's the big deal? Jacksonville is the smallest market in the NFL. Green Bay is a little lower, but Milwaukee is next door, so that doesn't really count. The Jaguars say they need to get revenue for every source possible so they can continue to put competitive players on the field. They don't get the huge stadium naming contracts other cities get, are near the bottom in ticket revenue, and actually have to pay rent on the stadium - unlike some teams, such as Indianapolis, where the city pays the team to play in its facility.

The bad boy in all of this seems to be a sports agent named Dean Bonham. Bonham represents a number of teams in the various professional leagues, cities, colleges, sports shoe companies, and even Las Vegas casinos. Bonham was hired by the city of Jacksonville as a consultant, but has somehow taken over as the chief negotiator. Folks in town want to know why Mayor John Peyton is not handling the negotiations any long.

Now the Jaguars say that Bonham has told at least one, and possibly more, Jacksonville city council member that he has a client willing to pay $1-billion to buy the franchise and move it to Los Angeles. Folks are wondering if that is not a huge conflict of interest on Bonham's part. Is he destroying the Jaguars's relationship with the city so that he can collect a big fee for landing the franchise for Los Angeles.

If I were John Peyton, I'd worry about my political career if I were known as the mayor who lost the Jaguars.

If I were a shareholder of Gate Petroleum, owned by the Peyton family, I'd remember what happened to Mayflower moving franchises in Baltimore after the Colts snuck out of town inside their vans.