Menu
Closing Bell

NFL Owners Approve Chargers' Deal To Lease Inglewood Stadium

NFL owners this morning unanimously approved a stadium lease between the Chargers and Rams, as well as waiving the league debt limit so the Chargers can borrow toward a relocation fee, sources said. The moves, made at the owners' meeting in Irving, Texas, do not necessarily mean the Chargers are moving by the Jan. 15 deadline, but they pave the way for the team to make the decision. The Chargers would be a tenant of the new Inglewood stadium, scheduled to be opened by '19. The Rams would essentially be the Chargers' landlord.

The waiver allows the Chargers to borrow half the $650M relocation fee, above and beyond the existing $250M per club debt limit. The relocation fee is $550M, but because it is paid over 10 years, interest carries the value to $650M. It is the higher figure that the Chargers can borrow half of, so $325M. Chargers Chair Dean Spanos has previously said he will not announce his intentions until after the season.

The owners appeared divided over the future of the Chargers and Raiders after they were briefed on the two teams at today’s meeting. Colts Owner Jim Irsay said there is no reason for optimism regarding San Diego and Oakland keeping their teams, suggesting both clubs are the verge of relocating. But Falcons Owner Arthur Blank disagreed, saying it was still early in the process and more facts were needed. He also pointedly said most owners, but not all, agree that the strong preference is to keep teams in their home markets until all options had run out.

Blank’s comments are the first positive signal for Oakland on a day when NFL Exec VP/Business Ventures Eric Grubman strongly rejected the city’s two-month negotiating period with developer Fortress Investment. Blank did not rule out the league taking a stronger role in trying to keep the Chargers in San Diego.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2016/12/14/NFL-owners.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Closing-Bell/2016/12/14/NFL-owners.aspx

CLOSE