The NFL netted $14 billion from its 2016 season, according to Sports BusinessJournal'sDaniel Kaplan on Monday . (The full report is behind a paywall.)
That's an increase of nearly a full billion over the league's 2015 revenue, attributed largely to a rights fee increase for Thursday Night Football and the opening of the Minnesota Vikings' new stadium. The NFL originally sold the TNF rights for $300 million for an 8-game package to CBS, but upped its take to $900 million over a 2-year deal split between CBS and NBC.
Primetime ratings were down across the board for the 2016 season, all but writing the "NFL Ratings Are On The Rebound!" stories ahead of time for 2017 as TNF rights hit the market again after next season.
The league is also set to see its revenue spike with a new stadium set to open in Los Angeles at the end of this decade and, possibly, a new stadium also coming to Las Vegas.
The $14 billion -- which is more than the entire GDP of Jamaica -- is more than half the way to Roger Goodell's stated goal of reaching $25 billion in revenue by 2027.
If we're to assume that $14 billion is split 33 ways -- with the league office keeping a share for itself -- each team would rake in $424 million for the 2016 season. With the 2017 cap set at $167 million, each team is handed a $257 million head start to fund the remaining costs of running a professional football franchise -- and that's before a single $50 parking spot or $5 pretzel is sold.