CenturyLink Willing To Double Payments For New Naming-Rights Deal At Seattle Stadium

Telecommunications firm CenturyLink is "willing to more than double its payments for the naming rights" to the stadium where the Seahawks play and is "offering to renegotiate a new contract two years before the current deal expires," according to Jim Camden of the Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW. CenturyLink is asking the state Public Stadium Authority to approve a 15-year, $162.7M extension to "keep its name on the stadium." The extension has "already been approved" by Football Northwest, which owns the NFL team, and First & Goal Inc., which operates the stadium. The new deal "keeps an important element of the current contract," which requires 42.5% of each year’s payment by CenturyLink to be "set aside for major maintenance and improvements on the stadium." That would total more than $69M over the life of the contract. Most NFL naming rights deals "don’t include such high amount for stadium maintenance." Under the new contract, CenturyLink would pay $9.25M in '20, and that annual payment would rise 2.8% a year through '33, to reach about $13.5M. Over the life of the contract, the average yearly payment is $11.1M. That compares with the current contract that started at $4M in '04 and will hit $6.3M next year. CenturyLink will "pay extra if the Seahawks host playoff or divisional championship games." If CenturyLink should be bought out by another company, the new owner "can change the name on the stadium once during the term of the contract but has to pay for the new signage" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 6/8). The new naming-rights deal would rank No. 4 among NFL stadium deals in terms of average annual value. The previous deal with CenturyLink ranked in the high teens (THE DAILY).

NOTES: Figures not available for AT&T Stadium (Cowboys), Mercedes-Benz Superdome (Saints), Nissan Stadium (Titans) and Raymond James Stadium (Buccaneers). * = Venue set to open in the fall.