The National Football League is issuing $275 million in debt and creating a five-year facility under the league-wide credit facility. The new credit facility, issued through Football Funding II, will hold $3.178 billion in debt, rolling the two existing facilities into one.
Issued this month, the money involves term notes, which typically offer a fixed interest rate over the life of the loan. The notes will mature in 2028, 2033, and 2041.
‘A’ Rating
The debt was given an ‘A’ rating by Fitch Ratings, which cited various reasons for the league’s “highly regarded economic model.”
- “Sizable multi-year national media contracts”: The league signed agreements with NBC, CBS, Fox, ESPN, and Amazon for roughly $110 billion collectively over 11 years.
- “Significant and equitable revenue sharing among member clubs”: In 2019, NFL clubs reportedly shared $8.8 billion of the total $14.5 billion in revenue.
- “A collective bargaining agreement with its players union”: The deal ensures NFL labor peace through at least 2030 and, starting this year, gives players at least 48% of all league revenue.
Last year, teams agreed to raise debt limits by $150 million to $500 million for each franchise due to pandemic-related financial struggles — the league’s revenue fell by $4 billion from 2019 to 2020.
