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Stadium Watch Blog
Tim Nelson

Vikings stadium: What is Minnesota actually expecting the Vikings to pay?

Go Deeper.

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Amid all the discussion about whether Zygi Wilf and his fellow  Vikings owners can afford to pay for a new stadium, there hasn't been much said about what he may actually have to pay.

It might surprise you.

A league loan, personal seat licenses (called "stadium builder licenses" in Minnesota) and naming rights could almost entirely cover the Vikings share of the new stadium-- regardless of the outcome of the Wilf family's legal difficulties in New Jersey. They're being sued for allegedly cheating partners in a real estate deal there.

Here's a closer look at the stadium deal in Minnesota. Click start, then click on the play arrow on the lower left to begin the interactive presentation.

And here's the Cliff's Notes version: According to the Vikings and published reports, NFL teams have averaged about $154 million in PSL revenue since 1995 and the equivalent of $120 million in present value in the 10 most recent long-term naming rights deals. Add that to an expected $200 million NFL loan subsidized by the league, and that's $474 million right there.

And that would be just $3 million short of the $477 million the Vikings pledged as their share of the stadium.

Or, to put it another way: if the Vikings hit the NFL average for their seat licensing and naming rights deals, on top of the league-subsidized loan they've already announced, that set of three funding sources would cover 99.3 percent of the money the state of Minnesota is expecting from the Vikings and the Wilfs.

Below, you'll find charts that show the  NFL averages for personal seat licenses and naming rights.