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JAXUSL soccer club adds former Jacksonville Jaguars RB Fred Taylor to ownership group
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- JAXUSL soccer club adds former Jacksonville Jaguars RB Fred Taylor to ownership group
Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor is joining the JAXUSL ownership group, the soccer franchise announced Thursday, the next step in its plans to launch a professional team in the United Soccer League.
Taylor becomes the second major football figure in Northeast Florida to join the venture alongside Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow , part of the group since its initial announcement in August 2022 .
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"I'm going into this as hard as I went into any linebacker or defender in my career," Taylor said Thursday in a remote interview with the Times-Union.
The JAXUSL news adds to an eventful week for Taylor, who Tuesday made the 25-man semifinal cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame . A national champion running back at the University of Florida in 1996, Taylor lined up for the Jaguars from 1998 to 2008, gaining 11,271 yards with the team. He entered the Pride of the Jaguars in 2012.
"Fred's a legend in our community, he's beloved in our community and he's a great leader," said JAXUSL co-owner and managing director Steve Livingstone, who also worked in the Jaguars' front office during part of Taylor's tenure with the NFL team.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor is joining the JAXUSL soccer ownership group.
JAXUSL did not specify the amount of Taylor's investment with the club.
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Taylor said that his relationship with Jacksonville entrepreneur and JAXUSL founding owner Ricky Caplin made the decision to join a no-brainer, and said the club will make an "extreme effort to give back to the community."
Taylor becomes the latest Jaguar to enter professional sports on the ownership side. Former Jaguars Myles Jack and Reggie Hayward are owners within Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, which operates the Jacksonville Icemen, Allen Americans and Savannah Ghost Pirates in the ECHL.
TEAM NAME, STADIUM REMAIN FOR JAXUSL
Taylor did suggest a possible kickoff date in 2026, rather than the spring 2025 date planned at the club's founding. Livingstone did not specify a precise timetable Thursday. A club release targets a goal to "bring competitive USL Championship action to the First Coast by 2025/2026."
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If JAXUSL does indeed kick off in 2026, it wouldn't be the only USL team moving its start date back. On Wednesday, Milwaukee Pro Soccer announced that it is deferring its USL kickoff from 2025 to 2026.
Several major steps remain in the process for JAXUSL. The franchise has yet to announce its team name, although Taylor indicated that this news could be on the way in the coming weeks, and Livingstone said the organization continues to hold discussions with officials about stadium possibilities in Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties. The club previously announced backing for a training complex along County Road 16A in St. Johns County.
In addition to the men's team in the second-level USL Championship, JAXUSL announced in May its plans to begin a professional women's team in the USL Super League , which is still in the formative stages.
JAXUSL could be among two Northeast Florida teams competing simultaneously, after the Jacksonville Armada announced plans Nov. 2 to join MLS Next Pro and push ahead with an Eastside stadium near the city's sports complex.
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FRED TAYLOR: A LIONEL MESSI FAN
Whatever the sport, Taylor said he welcomes the chance to keep moving forward. In his early years, Taylor said, he thought of soccer as a slow and methodical game, but he said he's grown to appreciate the sport's action over time.
Famed as a cutback runner during his NFL career, Taylor said his favorite player to watch, perhaps not surprisingly, is another master of the slashing run, Lionel Messi. Taylor said the World Cup champion for Argentina, who now plays in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, reminds him of his own approach to football with his patience, quickness, passion and competitive drive.
"The way he carves cuts through the defenders, he's a guy that's just exciting," Taylor said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fred Taylor: JAXUSL ownership adds Jacksonville Jaguars running back
