The Rams’ move from St. Louis to Los Angeles is going to cost every team in the league.
NFL owners unanimously supported a plan in which Rams owner Stan Kroenke covers most of the bill but is partly repaid over the next three decades, according to Sports Business Journal.
- The total charge comes to around $820 million — $790 million for a settlement with the city of St. Louis and $30 million in legal fees.
- The other 31 owners have already chipped in $220 million after the league gave each team around $7 million from national revenue payouts.
- Kroenke owes the league $320 million in March and an additional $283 million in five years. He’ll be able to recover the second payment over 30 years by hanging onto revenue from home games normally shared with the visiting team.
The repayment will be through the league’s G4 financing program, which is also being employed by the Buffalo Bills for their new stadium. The Rams will not be able to use the funds for stadium upgrades while they are still claiming repayments.
SoFinancing
The arrangement allows Kroenke to leverage his massive investment in the Rams’ (and Chargers’) SoFi Stadium, which he privately financed to the reported tune of $5 billion.
The stadium is the NFL’s largest venue.
