JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars sold enough tickets to avoid a blackout, giving the small-market franchise seven consecutive home games on local television.
Tickets still remain for Sunday’s game against Cleveland, but Jacksonville avoided a blackout thanks to a 24-hour extension from the NFL.
The Jaguars blacked out nine of 10 home games last season, making them the poster child for slumping ticket sales and creating talk that Jacksonville might not be a viable NFL market. But the team stepped up ticket-selling efforts in the past year and avoided more blackouts.
Jacksonville has two home games remaining — against Oakland (Dec. 12) and Washington (Dec. 26) — and has to sell more than 7,500 remaining non-premium seats for each game to avoid a blackout.