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Kirby Smart explains decision to play 2026-27 Florida-Georgia games at neutral sites: 'We got outbid'

by: Alex Byington05/30/25_AlexByington
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Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier and Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart shake hands midfield at the end of the Bulldog's victory over the Gators. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]

Earlier this month, the Athens Banner-Herald revealed both Florida and Georgia will receive $7.5 million apiece for moving their annual rivalry game. Known colloquially as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party,” the game will now be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2026.

That decision was part of a joint agreement to play the 2026 game in Atlanta and the 2027 game at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium while Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium undergoes a $1.4 billion renovation project. The game is scheduled to return to Jacksonville in 2028 with both teams guaranteed to receive $10 million apiece in 2028-29 and $10.5 million for 2030-31, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

But prior to finalizing the agreement to move the game to neutral sites in 2026-27, there was a strong push — including from Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart — to play those games on each school’s campus. That has only happened once in the 102-game history of the Florida-Georgia series, during the 1994-95 seasons while the Jacksonville Jaguars’ home stadium was being built ahead of their NFL debut in 1995.

Smart opened up about those negotiations during a recent appearance on SiriusXM. The interview was with SEC Network personalities Peter Burns, Chris Doering and Jacob Hester.

Decision to play 2026-27 Florida-Georgia games at neutral sites ‘ultimately came based on money’

“Why can’t we play that Florida-Georgia game (on campus)?” Smart said. “We didn’t get it. We got outbid, baby. … That was an AD decision that ultimately came based on money, and (Atlanta) and Tampa ponied up and made really good financial offers.”

Doering, a Gainesville native who played at Florida from 1992-95, then bragged about having the unique opportunity of playing the rivalry game in Jacksonville, Athens and Gainesville during his college career, to which Smart made the point he did too. Even if Smart wasn’t necessarily on the winning side of those seasons. Smart, who played safety at Georgia from 1995-1998, also played an interesting role during the 1995 game in Athens, a 52-17 rout for the Gators.

“(Steve) Spurrier’s always coming over and telling me, ‘I set the record for scoring points – whatever it was, 52? – but everybody forgets, that was seven kickoffs. And guess who the kickoff return guy for Georgia was that year? You’re looking at him,” Smart joked. “(Laughter) Seven kickoff returns in one game, and (I) brought them all out. The headline picture after the game was 10 (Florida) guys form tackling me at once on a kickoff. Because the point we kicked off the seventh time, no one was blocking. … I had seven kickoff returns, broke a record, that means you’re really bad on defense.”

Suffice it to say, today’s Bulldogs are much improved on defense in their 10th season with Smart as head coach. In fact, with Smart at the helm, Georgia has won seven of the last nine games against Florida, including four straight for a 56-44-2 all-time advantage in the series.