ESPN's Seth Wickersham reports the league and team officials have agreed on a proposal to raise the debt limit $150 million for each team to make up for lost revenue in the event that games are played without fans this season.
The proposal will be voted on next week. A recent study conducted by Patrick Rishe, the sports business program director at Washington University, showed the NFL would lose about $138 million in revenue from tickets and game-day fan spending for each week played without fans, and nearly $2.3 billion over the course of a full season. The increased debt limit has been discussed among league executives for weeks, and this pitch would raise that allotted amount from $350 million to $500 million for 2020. It's another step towards the league eventually commencing on Thursday, September 10 with the Texans and Chiefs as scheduled.
The proposal will be voted on next week. A recent study conducted by Patrick Rishe, the sports business program director at Washington University, showed the NFL would lose about $138 million in revenue from tickets and game-day fan spending for each week played without fans, and nearly $2.3 billion over the course of a full season. The increased debt limit has been discussed among league executives for weeks, and this pitch would raise that allotted amount from $350 million to $500 million for 2020. It's another step towards the league eventually commencing on Thursday, September 10 with the Texans and Chiefs as scheduled.