NFL Teams Threaten to Leave over Stadium Subsidies
The N.F.L. owners voted this week to let the billionaire owner of the St. Louis Rams move his team to just outside Los Angeles, a move consistent with this league’s tear-’em-up, toss-’em-out ethos.
The players know this drill. Fall out of favor with a coach? Take too long to recover from an injury? Unless you’re an N.F.L. star, you have a problem.
Garry Gillam, a behemoth of a man, offered a stirring story as he went from an undrafted player to starting at tackle for the Seattle Seahawks. He signed a three-year, $1.5 million contract.
However, if in the next game he misses a few blocks or gets nicked up and his coaches tire of him, Seattle could release him and pay just the guaranteed portion of his contract, which is to say $12,000.
.. The N.F.L. has baroque rules of self-governance, not the least covering how it splits revenue. Owners all share in television and general ticket revenue. But luxury boxes are pure gold, and a team’s owner doesn’t have to share a penny of that revenue with the owners of other teams.
This has led to an arms race, as owners seek to build ever-grander stadiums with ever-more-luxurious boxes.