The cost to the National Football League of hosting games in empty stadiums this season is estimated at a staggering $5.5 billion, or more than a third of the league's total revenue, according to a report in Forbes.
Stadium revenue is defined as the sum of ticket sales, concessions, team merchandise, parking and sponsorships. For the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots, losses would amount to more than half of their projected total revenue. AT&T Stadium in Dallas generates $621 million in stadium revenue each season, nearly twice the amount of the next-closest facility — New England's Gillett Stadium. Other franchises won't be hit as hard. For example, Buffalo, Tennessee and Cincinnati stand to lose less than a third of their overall revenue if an entire season's games are played in empty stadiums.
Players will definitely feel the impact, too. As reported by Forbes, the NFL agreed in March to a new collective bargaining agreement that allocated 47 percent of football-related income to the players in 2020 and 48 percent in 2021.
