NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020

SmashMouth · 03-11-2021, 05:10 PM

Even though the NFL managed to play all 256 regular-season games and all 13 postseason games, the league lost a large chunk of money due to the pandemic.

According to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the league saw its revenue fall from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020. The league had expected to generate $16.5 billion last year, before the pandemic changed everything.

The NFL wiped out its entire preseason due to the pandemic. Also, attendance fell from more than 17 million to little more than one million.

The league undoubtedly will earn significantly more this year and beyond, given the expectation that many (if not most) stadiums will be full this year. Regardless, the $4 billion that was lost in 2020 isn’t coming back.

stickman · 03-11-2021, 05:14 PM

Oh my God! They only made $12 billion? Maybe we should have a car wash to raise money for them.

AsylumGuido · 03-11-2021, 05:31 PM

Originally Posted by stickman

Oh my God! They only made $12 billion? Maybe we should have a car wash to raise money for them.

No kidding. The NFL is such a huge revenue generator that they can weather far more than most other industries ... especially entertainment industries.

stickman · 03-12-2021, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by AsylumGuido

No kidding. The NFL is such a huge revenue generator that they can weather far more than most other industries ... especially entertainment industries.

Yeah, I learned how business works at a previous job. If some company accountant determined our plant should make $3.5 million (random number) for the year and we only make $3.2 million, they want to know why we lost $300,000.

I'm sure the NFL will paint this as a loss.

WW_Who_Dat · 03-12-2021, 10:00 AM

Per Team 33 Tram Total
Players Cap 182,500,000 x32 = 5,904,000,000
Coaches staff 25,000,000 800,000,000
Facility o/head 10,000,000 320,000,000
Misc 10,000,000 320,000,000

Just rough figures beyond the player cap but 7.344 billion expense against the reported 16.2 billion revenue still leave a lot of gravy for the owners and Rodger. Even if you were to double or triple facility cost estimate and misc them good ole boys are not hurting even in 2020.

The delta of 4 billion between 2019 vs 2020 per team is $125 million per team. Looks to me the cap could have remained the same as last year and the owner/NFL would not taken much of a haircut.

AsylumGuido · 03-12-2021, 10:03 AM

Originally Posted by stickman

Yeah, I learned how business works at a previous job. If some company accountant determined our plant should make $3.5 million (random number) for the year and we only make $3.2 million, they want to know why we lost $300,000.

I'm sure the NFL will paint this as a loss.

For tax purposes they will find ways to isolate it into sub entities and take advantage that way. At times in the past I would think that I should have used my accounting degree as an accountant, but I would quickly come to my senses.

The program development field was so much more exciting and I did get to work on accounting systems for much of my career so it wasn't a total waste.

SmashMouth · 03-12-2021, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by WW_Who_Dat

Per Team 33 Tram Total
Players Cap 182,500,000 x32 = 5,904,000,000
Coaches staff 25,000,000 800,000,000
Facility o/head 10,000,000 320,000,000
Misc 10,000,000 320,000,000

Just rough figures beyond the player cap but 7.344 billion expense against the reported 16.2 billion revenue still leave a lot of gravy for the owners and Rodger. Even if you were to double or triple facility cost estimate and misc them good ole boys are not hurting even in 2020.

The delta of 4 billion between 2019 vs 2020 per team is $125 million per team. Looks to me the cap could have remained the same as last year and the owner/NFL would not taken much of a haircut.

But it's a cut nonetheless and possibly the reversal of an upward trend. We already know the cap will be reduced for next year, not that they need to as your numbers spell out.

AsylumGuido · 03-12-2021, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by SmashMouth

But it's a cut nonetheless and possibly the reversal of an upward trend. We already know the cap will be reduced for next year, not that they need to as your numbers spell out.

The cap, as we now know, is at $182.5 million for 2021. Early word is that the broadcast contracts should come in around double what they were this past go around. Given that the cap is contractually tied to revenues the 2022 cap should be at least $225 million. I heard today that the 2023 cap can easily come in at $250 million or more. It will continue to rise at a comparable rate and should be up to $350 million in the next five or six years. The upward trend will continue as the NFL keeps adding more partners on an annual basis. Amazon Prime is the big player this round and other streaming services can and will become involved globally for even more new revenue streams.

blackangold · 03-12-2021, 12:58 PM

I don't really care what they make... just here to say none of this is surprising.

Side note, I truly hope they lose the Sunday Ticket contract with ATT and go full steam with streaming partnerships to buy games weekly that you want to watch a la carte. I would gladly pay 4.99-9.99 per game each week that I wanted to watch.

Rugby Saint II · 03-12-2021, 05:06 PM

Those poor owners. My heart goes out to them. They might have to live within reasonable means. Sad times that we live in.

03-11-2021, 05:10 PM	#1
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,201 Blog Entries: 29	NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Even though the NFL managed to play all 256 regular-season games and all 13 postseason games, the league lost a large chunk of money due to the pandemic. According to Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the league saw its revenue fall from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020. The league had expected to generate $16.5 billion last year, before the pandemic changed everything. The NFL wiped out its entire preseason due to the pandemic. Also, attendance fell from more than 17 million to little more than one million. The league undoubtedly will earn significantly more this year and beyond, given the expectation that many (if not most) stadiums will be full this year. Regardless, the $4 billion that was lost in 2020 isn’t coming back. jnormand and jeanpierre like this.

03-11-2021, 05:14 PM	#2
stickman 1000 Posts + Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Gonzales, LA Posts: 1,687	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Oh my God! They only made $12 billion? Maybe we should have a car wash to raise money for them. neugey, Rugby Saint II, OldMaid and 1 others like this.

03-11-2021, 05:31 PM	#3
AsylumGuido 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bossier City, LA Posts: 26,274	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Originally Posted by stickman Oh my God! They only made $12 billion? Maybe we should have a car wash to raise money for them. No kidding. The NFL is such a huge revenue generator that they can weather far more than most other industries ... especially entertainment industries.

03-12-2021, 09:13 AM	#4
stickman 1000 Posts + Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Gonzales, LA Posts: 1,687	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Originally Posted by AsylumGuido No kidding. The NFL is such a huge revenue generator that they can weather far more than most other industries ... especially entertainment industries. Yeah, I learned how business works at a previous job. If some company accountant determined our plant should make $3.5 million (random number) for the year and we only make $3.2 million, they want to know why we lost $300,000. I'm sure the NFL will paint this as a loss.

03-12-2021, 10:00 AM	#5
WW_Who_Dat 1000 Posts + Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lafayette, La and Valencia CA Posts: 1,270 Blog Entries: 1	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Per Team 33 Tram Total Players Cap 182,500,000 x32 = 5,904,000,000 Coaches staff 25,000,000 800,000,000 Facility o/head 10,000,000 320,000,000 Misc 10,000,000 320,000,000 Just rough figures beyond the player cap but 7.344 billion expense against the reported 16.2 billion revenue still leave a lot of gravy for the owners and Rodger. Even if you were to double or triple facility cost estimate and misc them good ole boys are not hurting even in 2020. The delta of 4 billion between 2019 vs 2020 per team is $125 million per team. Looks to me the cap could have remained the same as last year and the owner/NFL would not taken much of a haircut. SmashMouth likes this.

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03-12-2021, 10:03 AM	#6
AsylumGuido 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bossier City, LA Posts: 26,274	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Originally Posted by stickman Yeah, I learned how business works at a previous job. If some company accountant determined our plant should make $3.5 million (random number) for the year and we only make $3.2 million, they want to know why we lost $300,000. I'm sure the NFL will paint this as a loss. For tax purposes they will find ways to isolate it into sub entities and take advantage that way. At times in the past I would think that I should have used my accounting degree as an accountant, but I would quickly come to my senses. The program development field was so much more exciting and I did get to work on accounting systems for much of my career so it wasn't a total waste. stickman likes this.

03-12-2021, 10:35 AM	#7
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,201 Blog Entries: 29	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Originally Posted by WW_Who_Dat Per Team 33 Tram Total Players Cap 182,500,000 x32 = 5,904,000,000 Coaches staff 25,000,000 800,000,000 Facility o/head 10,000,000 320,000,000 Misc 10,000,000 320,000,000 Just rough figures beyond the player cap but 7.344 billion expense against the reported 16.2 billion revenue still leave a lot of gravy for the owners and Rodger. Even if you were to double or triple facility cost estimate and misc them good ole boys are not hurting even in 2020. The delta of 4 billion between 2019 vs 2020 per team is $125 million per team. Looks to me the cap could have remained the same as last year and the owner/NFL would not taken much of a haircut. But it's a cut nonetheless and possibly the reversal of an upward trend. We already know the cap will be reduced for next year, not that they need to as your numbers spell out. jeanpierre likes this.

03-12-2021, 12:04 PM	#8
AsylumGuido 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Bossier City, LA Posts: 26,274	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Originally Posted by SmashMouth But it's a cut nonetheless and possibly the reversal of an upward trend. We already know the cap will be reduced for next year, not that they need to as your numbers spell out. The cap, as we now know, is at $182.5 million for 2021. Early word is that the broadcast contracts should come in around double what they were this past go around. Given that the cap is contractually tied to revenues the 2022 cap should be at least $225 million. I heard today that the 2023 cap can easily come in at $250 million or more. It will continue to rise at a comparable rate and should be up to $350 million in the next five or six years. The upward trend will continue as the NFL keeps adding more partners on an annual basis. Amazon Prime is the big player this round and other streaming services can and will become involved globally for even more new revenue streams.
	“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

03-12-2021, 12:58 PM	#9
blackangold 1000 Posts + Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 3,422	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 I don't really care what they make... just here to say none of this is surprising. Side note, I truly hope they lose the Sunday Ticket contract with ATT and go full steam with streaming partnerships to buy games weekly that you want to watch a la carte. I would gladly pay 4.99-9.99 per game each week that I wanted to watch.

03-12-2021, 05:06 PM	#10
Rugby Saint II Bounty Money $$$ Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 5800 Airline Dr. Metairie, LA. Posts: 24,073	Re: NFL revenue drops from $16 billion in 2019 to $12 billion in 2020 Those poor owners. My heart goes out to them. They might have to live within reasonable means. Sad times that we live in.