Friday 27 April 2018 00:26, UK
Who is the billionaire owner looking to purchase Wembley Stadium?
With the confirmation on Thursday that the FA are in talks with Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan over the sale of Wembley Stadium, we profile the potential new owner.
After growing automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate from $17 million in sales in the late 80s to close to $2 billion, the Pakistani-born businessman made his first move to enter the NFL in 2010.
He attempted to buy the St Louis Rams, but Stan Kroenke - also currently the largest shareholder of Arsenal - matched the bid and retained control. They have since relocated to Los Angeles.
Late in 2011, Khan agreed to purchase the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just under two years after his initial attempt to enter the league, in January 2012 he had officially purchased 100 percent of the shares of the Florida-based outfit.
In 2013, Khan bought Fulham from Mohamed Al Fayed, subsequently watching on as they were relegated from the Premier League. However, they could be back in the top flight next season and are currently sitting at third in the Championship table.
The same year, he entered into an agreement to play one Jaguars home game in London in each season from 2013 to 2016 - a deal that has since been extended through 2020 as the games prove highly popular in the U.K.
After a spell of success in the late 1990s - the franchise was formed in 1995 - the Jaguars hadn’t enjoyed many wins in the years leading up to Khan’s ownership. In fact, even after he took over, they stumbled to just 17 wins compared to 83 losses in his first five years.
However, last year, their fortunes changed as they won 10 games - their most since 2007 - and reached the AFC Championship Game. Ultimately, they were knocked off by Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, but new head coach Doug Marrone had a fantastic first year in charge.
NFL fans may remember Khan locking arms with linebacker Telvin Smith and tight Marcedes Lewis during the national anthem before the Jags dominated the Baltimore Ravens 44-7 last September. In the organisation and across the league, he's a well-liked and well-respected owner.
When Khan made his Jaguars purchase, he became the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team. His work towards advancement of the NFL internationally, and specifically London, has been ground-breaking. The 67-year-old will have a clear vision of what he's working towards.
But what will the purchase of Wembley mean? Sky Sports News understands this could lead to a deal that would see the creation of the first NFL franchise outside of the USA. While it's been speculated for some time, this move could mean it's a whole lot closer to happening.
In the meantime, the Jaguars will play their regularly-scheduled home game at Wembley against the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles on October 28.
Jacksonville also hold the 29th pick in this year's NFL Draft, which you can watch live on Sky Sports.
All three days of the NFL Draft are exclusively live on Sky Sports with opening night getting underway from 12.30am on Friday, April 27 on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Mix.
Watch the full NFL Draft Preview on demand now and the first round will be available on Friday.
Check out our NFL Draft support programming with Neil Reynolds, Jeff Reinebold, Solomon Wilcots, the Around the NFL guys and MMQB's Peter King who will give us their informed opinion on what to expect in Dallas this week.
You can follow all the build-up to the NFL Draft with us at www.skysports.com/nfl and on @SkySportsNFL
