ATHENS — It was news to some this week that the 2026 and 2027 Georgia-Florida games were being moved out of Jacksonville.

The stadium will be undergoing renovations during those two seasons, meaning the two long-time rivals would have to play elsewhere.

Only instead of turning the series into a home-and-home, something Kirby Smart had previously been in favor of, the two games will be played in Atlanta and Tampa.

And for as much as that might frustrate fans, both schools have roughly 9 million reasons why they will ultimately be fine with the decision.

As reported by Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald, Georgia and Florida will each receive $7.5 million from AMB Sports Entertainment to play the 2026 game in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Details for the 2027 game have not been released, but the city of Jacksonville will in addition pay both schools $1.5 million in 2026 and 2027 before the game returns to Jacksonville.

The last time the Georgia-Florida rivalry was moved out of Jacksonville, the series was played in Athens and Gainesville in 1995 and 1996, respectively.

Smart played on both of those teams. He, unlike so many others, understands what that rivalry is like.

The Georgia coach though also knows that money has become so much more important to a college football program in today’s day and age, which is why he will likely be fine with taking the money and playing the rivalry on a neutral site.

“It’s been talked about and debated for a long time — for a while, since we‘ve known the Jacksonville renovation was going to occur,” Smart said in October. “I think the parties involved did a great job of managing it. I think Jacksonville did a great job stepping up and making it worthwhile for both universities. I’m excited about the opportunity to play at two different locations, so that’ll be unique. Maybe we learn from those two experiences.”

Should the upcoming House settlement pass, revenue sharing will be introduced into college football. Schools will be asked to dole out at least $20.5 million to its athletes, with a sizable chunk of those funds going towards the football program.

While Georgia generates significant revenue every year — the school’s proposed revenue for the upcoming fiscal year is $222,973,670 — the race to keep up in college football is paramount. Especially as we‘ve seen Georgia lose out on a number of recruits in recent cycles because of financial reasons.

Schools can’t legally yet pay players to come play for them yet, but we know schools like Miami and Texas are making far more aggressive plays for 5-star prospects Jackson Cantwell and Justus Terry.

The hunt for additional revenue is another reason why Georgia hopes to hold a concert in Sanford Stadium next spring. In Georgia’s budget, which was approved on Friday, the school projected to make $1.25 million in revenue from outside events.

A concert would fall under that umbrella, but it is not the only thing that could.

“While we still have to hold true to our traditions and values, we have to continue to be creative and looking at different ways to drive revenue, more ways than ever before,” Georgia Athletic Director Josh Brooks said on Thursday. “You’ll see us talking about things like bringing back a concert to Sanford Stadium. We have to be open to all those ideas to find ways to generate revenue.”

Brooks admits that you want to balance tradition with innovation while still putting the student-athlete experience first. It’s a tricky line to walk. But it is one that Brooks, Smart and the entire Georgia program must walk together.

“We know our mission revolves around student-athletes,” Brooks said. “Under President Morehead’s leadership, he‘s always modeled that for us, that we put the students first. So really trying to keep their experience feel exactly the same, but how can we be more efficient with how we operate behind the scenes?”

The Georgia-Florida rivalry will return to Jacksonville in 2028, where Georgia and Florida will receive at least $10 million for the 2028 and 2029 games. For the 2030 and 2031, that number will rise to at least $10.5 million.

For comparison standpoint, Georgia projects to make between $5.1 and $5.7 million in ticket revenue for its home SEC games next season. Those include contests against Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Texas. You can imagine that a home game against Florida would likely fall in that ballpark.

College athletics, especially college football, has become a cash race. It is a massive business, one that has been run well by Georgia in recent years. Under Brooks’ leadership, Georgia has won six national championships across all sports, including two in football.

If Georgia is to get a third, he needs to make sure Smart has everything he needs to keep the Bulldogs near the top of the sport.

Traditions are nice and important. But at this point in the game, money gets you a bit more. As frustrating as that might be for some, it is the world Brooks and company live in.

“You can generate all the revenue you want, you’ve got to be efficient in how you spend it. So we‘ve also got to look at how we operate and make sure we‘re efficient,” Brooks said. “So it’s got to be pulling both levers.”