If someone looks at the official NFL attendance statistics, they will be amazed to see that it rarely goes below 90%. It doesn't matter the weather, the team, the quality of the game... Year after year, it is rare to find a team that sells less than 90% of its tickets. Officially, of course. The reality is somewhat different.

Until last March, the NFL had in force the so-called blackout rule. If a franchise had not sold all the tickets for a particular game 72 hours before the first snap, the broadcasting of that game in the local television market of that team was prohibited. By the way, the definition of local includes any point on the map within 75 miles of the stadium (that is, a radius of about 120 kilometers). For some teams, this is not a problem at all. For others, it is a constant challenge.

But if there is one thing that all clubs are clear about, it is that being on the screens of their local fans every Sunday is crucial. Regardless of what happens with the tickets for home games. Just in case those fans stop being fans. Over the years, the Jaguars have sharpened their wits to achieve this.

On the one hand, they have been (along with the Dolphins) the franchise that has most profusely used the trick of buying tickets for themselves. For every dollar of revenue a franchise receives from ticket sales, it allocates 34 cents to the league's collective revenue sharing. If a franchise puts those 34 cents per dollar on the table, even without anyone buying them, the NFL considers them sold.

They were also the first to cover entire sections of the stands with tarps to reduce the stadium's capacity. The fewer seats available, the more likely they are to achieve a full house. The famous pools and other "luxury" tickets? Another trick: they did not count towards the blackout rule.

But, above all, the surprising joy with which the Jaguars agreed to give up one home game every season between 2013 and 2016 to be played in Wembley. The games in London always sell out, and those extra revenues (added to the savings from repurchasing their own tickets) were a relief for the Jaguars' coffers.

Until now. The owner of the Jacksonville team, Shad Khan, did not have much trouble giving up the games against the 49ers in 2013 and the Cowboys in 2014. Good teams, yes, but not enough to fill the stadium. The same goes for the game against the Bills in the upcoming season. But for 2016, things have changed. The league headquarters have decided that it is time to bring one of their most famous franchises to the United Kingdom and the 2016 season, in which the AFC South will face the NFC North in the regular season, is the perfect occasion. The NFL wants to bring the Green Bay Packers to London.

And that, for the Jaguars, is a serious problem. Why? Because if there are two teams in the league whose fans travel, and travel en masse wherever they go, they are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. A game against either of these two teams is a gift for teams with attendance problems, like the Jaguars. If they can't guarantee a full house, they come close.

It is not clear how much Shad Khan can oppose the league's wishes. But it is clear that he will try with all his might. The difference for his pocket is huge: if he manages to keep the game at his Jacksonville stadium, he will practically have two full houses guaranteed. Without the need to put money from his own pocket to "fake" them.