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NFL teams rolling in dough

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Each of the 32 NFL teams received just over $400 million from the league office for the 2023 season, according to multiple people familiar with the league’s finances who were not authorized to speak publicly. The tally is up 6% to 8% from the 2022 season, depending on the accounting used by the team.

The total represents national media rights, league sponsorships and shared revenue and royalties from the league’s various affiliates and subsidiaries, such as NFL Properties, NFL International and NFL Enterprises and adds up to roughly $13 billion. […]

The other huge plus is the guaranteed check from the league each year that dwarfs the cap before a team sells a single ticket, beer, sponsorship or parking space. The result is that every NFL team is wildly profitable and worth at least $4 billion, with an average franchise value of $5.14 billion last year. […]

The national payout is up 115% over the past decade and should rise at a similar rate over the next decade to more than $800 million per team with the media deals secured.

* Center Square…

As economist J.C. Bradbury of Georgia’s Kennesaw State University has pointed out, renovations to existing NFL stadiums at the same spot do not improve economic conditions.

“There is no legitimate policy justification for devoting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to upgrade an NFL football stadium,” Bradbury told The Center Square. “The research on this is clear and unambiguous: sports stadiums are not salutary public investments.”

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 12:12 pm

Comments

Seems like enough for a down payment on a new privately funded stadium in Arlington Heights.

An aside:

The Bears and the other 31 NFL teams could be hit squarely in the pocket with the “Sunday Ticket” settlement.

Before this windfall, I was wondering if the Bears were thinking about managing expenses with consideration to needing to pay off a possible $400 million (a teams portion) court case.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/final-payment-if-any-in-sunday-ticket-case-will-be-spread-equally-among-the-32-teams

Comment by Cool Papa Bell Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 12:17 pm
Too bad it is not enough to cover the increase in real estate taxes at Arlington Heights. /S

Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 12:23 pm
But $8 million in property taxes for local schools and services is a hardship?

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 12:23 pm
A lot of this debate falls under negotiations. You never know until you ask. Might as well as for oney for a stadium, site improvements, or reduction in taxes becuase you could get it. If you don’t just keep working at it until you get something.

Comment by GoneFishing Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 12:57 pm
= If you don’t just keep working at it until you get something.=

So then, the local taxing bodies can follow the same practice? Just ask for whatever and keep going until you get it? Seems unethical and dishonest to me since the whole issue for the Bears is predicated on their statements to the effect that the taxes are too high and not affordable.

Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 2:30 pm
J.C. Bradbury has made the issue of public funded stadiums an area of expertise and has written a lot about the subject. I’m not an economist but his conclusions are persuasive.

== A lot of this debate falls under negotiations. You never know until you ask. ==

It seems like most of the core “negotiations” are usually in how to architect a convoluted scheme so nobody actually SEES the taxes even when they feel them. The larger the amount, the more easily it is to both see and feel.

Comment by granville Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 2:39 pm
Maybe the Bears should start building schools and roads with the revenue the NFL sends them. /s

Comment by Baloneymous Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 3:28 pm
As a reminder - and no, I don’t support tax dollars going to build a stadium - the Bears, and specifically the McCaskeys, are not the “Joneses” of the NFL. They have no business that made them bazillions of dollars that allowed them to purchase a team. They have no steady income stream from oil, real estate, financial services, etc., that they can use to help move things along. The McCaskeys literally won the lottery with the Bears. As history for those who forget, in 1921, the Staley Starch Company gave George Halas the team, $5,000 (yes, THEY paid HIM) and permission to move the team to Chicago if he would agree to keep the Staleys name for a year. So the team they have now that has an estimated value of $6.3 billion, George paid no money for.
That said, the only way they have money to build a stadium, etc., is to take the equity and value of the franchise to do so. And if I’m the kids, I ain’t doing that. You hold it till Virginia dies, and then tell Mr. Bezos the club is all his for $10 billion.

Comment by Just a guy Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 3:50 pm
Sounds like the McCaskey’s could antenna up $4 billion for the new digs in Chi.

Comment by Annonin' Wednesday, Jul 10, 24 @ 4:04 pm