Forbes’ Darren Heitner estimates that the New Orleans Saints could lose as much as $161 million in direct stadium revenue, and an even larger total of $441 million should the entire 2020 season be played without fans in attendance.
It’s tough to imagine the Mercedes-Benz Superdome sitting eerily quiet while Drew Brees takes the field for maybe the last time, but it just goes to show the lengths to which the novel coronavirus pandemic has altered American life.
Playing NFL games without fans would affect every team, but New Orleans stands to lose more than most due to its economic reliance on the tourism and hospitality sector. Games played in the Superdome are a huge draw for NFL fans around the country, and losing those visitors’ dollars would only compound a crisis the city is already dealing with.
And it might be the lesser of two evils. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has said that she’ll defer to the league’s judgment, but she believes playing in empty stadiums would be the safest course of action to prevent the spread of infections and potentially save lives.
The long-term impacts of this lost NFL revenue is yet to be determined, but it might be the first real hurdle faced by Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and his team in working around the salary cap.
Led by cap guru Khai Hartley, the Saints front office has navigated the always-rising salary cap with ease, knowing that increases in future years gives them resources to work with in the present. But if the cap were to fall instead due to decreased revenue, they might struggle to retain as many players while adding free agents next year.
Hopefully this doesn’t come to pass. But until widespread testing and a vaccine for Covid-19 are available, it’s tough to see NFL stadiums opening their doors to tens of thousands of fans any time soon.
