Jaguars offensive lineman Tyler Shatley has played the most NFL games in London of any player ever. Tomorrow’s game against the Falcons will be his eighth, and next Sunday’s game against the Bills will be his ninth. And taxes and jet lag are two major complaints.
Shatley said players try to take sleeping aids before the team flight to London so they can sleep on the plane, but what they find is they’re just never going to adjust their body clocks properly.
“No matter what medicine you take or what you do, it’s going to stink and you’re going to be tired,” Shatley told ESPN. “And just embrace that. Embrace the stink because you’re not going to be able to make it. You’re not going to be able to adjust. Guys will stay up the night before so they can sleep on the plane and it never works. It hurts no matter, no matter what you try to do. . . . I haven’t heard of anybody being like ‘I found the golden ticket’ to not be just jet-lagged like a mug.”
Shatley also noted that the taxes in London mean his take home pay the next two weeks will be lower than it is the rest of the season.
“Percentage-wise [I’ve possibly paid the most in U.K. taxes],” Shatley said. “Obviously guys who make a lot more money and have had to pay more money, but I have had to pay more taxes to London.”
Those are two of the many issues that would arise if an NFL team ever made London its home. Shatley understands those issues better than anyone.
