Sponsored:
London, England – Four Jacksonville Jaguars players were arrested on Saturday after they allegedly tried to leave a London night club without paying their $64,000 tab.
The Jaguars were in London for a regular season National Football League (NFL) game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Wembley.
The night before the big game, a group of Jaguars players and staff went to a private members club that featured burlesque and circus performers, according to The Sun.
The players drank champagne that cost $577 a bottle, according to The Sun.
The players later said they believed the expensive drinks had been given to them for free by the club, according to NFL.com.
When the bill arrived around 4 a.m., the football players refused to pay it, and an argument ensued.
Club security stopped the four players from leaving and police responded to the club for a report of a fight, according to the BBC.
The Sun reported that the players fought with club bouncers outside The London Reign Showclub
“It was the West End equivalent of King Kong meeting Godzilla,” one witness told The Sun.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport identified defensive backs Barry Church, Ronnie Harrison, D.J. Hayden, and Jarrod Wilson as the players involved in the scuffle.
All four players were taken to a police station for questioning, according to BBC.
Eventually, the players were released, and the bill was settled.
The Jaguars signed Wilson to a three-year, $1.6 million contract in 2016, and Church to a four-year, $26 million contract in 2017, according to Spotrac.
Harrison signed a four-year, $3.4 million contract, and Hayden signed a whopping three-year, $19 million contract with the Jaguars in 2018.
Jaguar players Telvin Smith, Myles Jack, Leon Jacobs, Dante Fowler, and T.J. Yeldon were also at the club for the party on Saturday night, but were not detained, the NFL Network reported.
The Jacksonville Jaguars management released a statement on Sunday.
“We are aware that 4 of our players were detained over restitution of a bill,” the statement said. “The matter is being resolved and the players are with the team. Any discipline will be handled internally.”
The Eagles beat the Jaguars 24 to 18 on Sunday, only a few hours after the team members were released from police custody.
Coaches chose not to sit out any of the healthy players who allegedly participated in the fight, CBS Sports reported.
The Jaguars made the news a year ago in London for kneeling during the “Star Spangled Banner” but standing for ”God Save The Queen.”
After international backlash, the team’s president apologized saying the team was ”remiss in not fully comprehending the effect of the national anthem demonstration on foreign soil has had on the men and women who have or continue to serve our country.”