Personal seat licenses may be getting a big boost in the NFL through the league’s evolving stadium financing program, or the G-3.
Under the new collective-bargaining agreement, PSL money will not be shared with the players, and the owners are leaning toward not penalizing G-3 recipients for having PSLs, as they had previously.
PSLs are contracts with fans that charge them for the right to buy seats.
The changes are recognition by both the players and owners of the importance of new stadiums to league economics, said Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner who might use PSLs in the stadium his team is building.
The owners heard a presentation on the G-3 plan last week at the annual owners meeting in Orlando. The plan so far has paid $773.5 million to 10 projects, funded by the visitors’ share of club-seat money and a $1 million annual levy on each team.
There is only enough money left to fund one large project and four smaller ones, a source said, so the owners need to vote to extend the plan. Part of that vote would be to find new funding sources, which could mean additional levies on the teams.
The owners may vote at their May meeting on the G-3 plans.
Under the current system, a team getting G-3 money and using PSLs has to subtract 34 percent of the value of the licenses from its grant. For example, if a team would have gotten $100 million, but sold $100 million of PSLs, its G-3 grant would be $66 million instead.
John Mara, co-owner of the New York Giants, said owners were leaning toward eliminating that deduction. That could be a huge inducement for Mara to use PSLs in the stadium project that the Giants and Jets are planning, though he declined to confirm he would use them.
The G-3, as approved by the union in the new CBA, also eliminates caps on grants. Previously, $150 million was the most a team could receive.
At least one owner will vote against extending the G-3 entirely — Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was opposed to the plan originally and is still against it. Owners such as Brown see G-3 as a giveaway to the high-revenue teams.
History of G-3 Disbursements
| Month / year | Team | Amount (millions) |
| May 1999 | Denver | $50 |
| May 1999 | New England | $150 |
| May 1999 | Philadelphia | $150 |
| May 2000 | Detroit | $100 |
| May 2000 | Seattle | $50 |
| October 2000 | Chicago | $100 |
| October 2001 | Green Bay | $13 |
| October 2001 | Arizona | $50 |
| June 2005 | Dallas | $76.5 |
| June 2005 | Indianapolis | $34 |
| Total: | | $773.5 million |
Source: SportsBusiness Journal
