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For weeks, the NFL league office and team executives had been discussing a proposal to help out the league if the COVD-19 pandemic carries into the season.
That proposal, if passed, will raise the debt limit from $350 million to $500 million in the case that teams lose revenue due to games being played without fans in the stands. NFL owners will vote on the proposal next week.
My @ESPNNFL newser: League and team officials have agreed on a proposal to raise the debt limit $150 million for each team to help make up for lost revenue in the event that games are played without fans, per sources. Will be voted on next week.https://t.co/wmEwB9YwGx
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) May 12, 2020
The ESPN article mentions that teams are projected to lose about $138M for every week games aren’t played with crowds. Over the course of a 17-week season, that amounts to over $2.3 billion in lost revenue.
Last week, the league’s schedule was released along with its contingencies in the event of delays. Every team has the same bye week as their Week 2 opponent and every Week 1 game can be moved until after Week 17. This gives the league flexibility in case they need to push the start of the season back for two weeks.
The owners signing off on this proposal will allow their teams to stay afloat in case fans aren’t filling up their stadiums in either case.