As the NFL continues to cling to hope that there will be a full season played with fans in attendance amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial repercussions of those hopes not coming through to fruition could be financially devastating for the Giants.
According to a report by Forbes, the Giants could lose an estimated $262 million in team stadium revenue and an estimated $519 million in total revenue if conditions do not permit the admittance of fans in the stands this fall.
The $519 million total revenue lost would put the Giants third, behind the Cowboys and Patriots among the teams that would be the hardest hit if the status quo doesn’t change in time for kickoff.
And although the Giants franchise, according to Forbes Sports Money’s 2019 NFL Valuation List, is worth an estimated $3.9 billion, it’s hard not to imagine the lost revenue not taking a bite out of the club’s operations.
Besides the NFL clubs being hit hard financially if circumstances don’t allow for fans in the stands, the league could also be facing a financial backlash. According to the new CBA agreed to by the owners and players in March, the players were to receive 47% of football-related income in 2020 and 48% in 2021.
If the teams can’t open their doors to the fans, that could mean that next year’s salary cap could drop significantly. And if that happens, the NFL could be looking at a mess on its hands if teams that initially thought they were under the cap now suddenly have to scramble to get under a significantly reduced cap in 2021.
Club owners and players won’t be the only ones feeling the financial pinch, as the gameday operations staff would also likely find themselves out of work until it’s again safe for crowds to fill stadiums.
The good news is that states around the country are starting to open in phases. Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, one of the hardest-hit areas of the country, recently declared that New York sports teams can resume training. However, Cuomo added that such training “can come back without having people in the stadium.”
The Giants, however, are headquartered and train in northern New Jersey, another area hit hard by COVID-19 outbreaks. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy hasn’t given any indication of when sports might be able to resume in the state.
The NFL does have time on its side, which is good news. However, what was once six months’ worth of time when the COVID-19 pandemic first shut down everything has now been cut down to four months, with the race to find a vaccination and/or medication to treat the virus approaching overtime.
There could still be solutions for teams to fill their stadiums to half of the regular capacity. Still, even if that were the case, it’s hard not to imagine all NFL teams suffering some financial loss absent a “Hail Mary” being completed by the scientific community in their race to find a vaccination.