NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement

Article 12
Revenue Accounting and Calculation of the Salary Cap

Section 4
Stadium Credit

(a)

For each League-approved stadium project other than Los Angeles beginning on or after the effective date of this Agreement, there shall be a credit of fifty percent (50%) of the private cost (whether incurred by a Club, Club Affiliate, or the League) to construct or renovate the stadium, or seventy-five percent (75%) of such cost for stadium construction or renovation in California, which cost shall include financing costs, amortized over a maximum of 15 years using an agreed-upon rate based on the NFL’s longterm borrowing cost to fund or support stadium construction, beginning in the League Year before such new stadium opens. The aggregate credit for all such approved projects for each League Year shall be part of the “Stadium Credit.” For purposes of this Subsection, the private cost shall not include any revenues that are excluded from AR related to the project pursuant to Section 1(a)(vi)(1), 1(a)(vii)(1) or 1(a)(viii)(1) above.

(b)

In each League Year, the Stadium Credit shall also include an amount equal to 70% of:

(b)(i)

Any PSL revenues excluded from AR pursuant to Subsection 1(a)(vi)(1) above, net of amounts specified in Subsection 1(a)(i)(1) above, and amortized over a maximum of 15 years with Interest, beginning in the League Year before the new stadium opens or the renovation is completed;

(b)(ii)

Any PSR revenues excluded from AR pursuant to Subsection 1(a)(vii)(1) above, net of amounts specified in Subsection 1(a)(i)(1) above, beginning in the League Year in which the new stadium opens or the renovation is completed;

(b)(iii)

Any naming/cornerstone revenues excluded from AR pursuant to Subsection 1(a)(viii)(1) above, with any lump-sum payments amortized over the life of the naming/cornerstone rights agreement up to a maximum of 15 years, beginning in the League Year the new stadium opens or the renovation is completed.

(c)

The Stadium Credit shall also include 50% of the cost of capital expenditures incurred during such League Year in any stadium that relate in any way to the fan experience at such stadium (regardless of when the stadium was constructed or renovated), amortized over five years (except for video boards, which shall be amortized over seven years), with Interest, such costs to be verified as capital expenditures by the Local Accountants and the Accountants using GAAP.

(d)

Notwithstanding the foregoing, absent NFLPA approval, the Stadium Credit may not equal an amount greater than 1.5% of Projected AR or AR for that League Year (the “Stadium Credit Threshold”).

(e)

If the sum of the amounts described in Subsections (a)–(c) above would result in a Stadium Credit that would exceed the Stadium Credit Threshold, then the Stadium Credit shall be an amount equal to the Stadium Credit Threshold, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.

(f)

Cap Effect Guarantee.

(f)(i)

In the event that the Stadium Credit was initially calculated to exceed the Stadium Credit Threshold, then for any individual stadium for which PSL, PSR, naming/cornerstone revenues were excluded from AR for that League Year, and to the extent that such revenues were excluded, and which excluded revenues were not included in the calculation determining that the Stadium Threshold had been reached, the “Incremental Cap Effect” from such stadium shall exceed the “Exclusion Cap Effect” by 125%. In the event that the Incremental Cap Effect does not exceed the Exclusion Cap Effect by 125% (a “Shortfall”), then an additional amount shall be imputed into AR sufficient to eliminate the Shortfall in the Salary Cap.

(f)(ii)

For purposes of this Subsection, “Exclusion Cap Effect” equals 40% of the amount of revenue excluded from AR. “Incremental Cap Effect” equals 40% of the “Incremental AR” from the stadium in question. “Incremental AR” means the difference between the AR generated from the stadium in question as compared to the “Base AR.” “Base AR” means the AR generated from such stadium or its predecessor in the year prior to the completion of the construction or renovation (the “Base Year”); if PSR revenues are being excluded from AR for such stadium, Base AR shall not include any PSR revenues from the Base Year.

(f)(iii)

For example, if in the 2018 League Year the Stadium Credit is calculated initially to be more than 1.5% of AR (i.e., to have reached the Stadium Credit Threshold), and if Stadium A had an amortized PSL exclusion of $20 million that was not part of the Stadium Credit Threshold, then the Exclusion Cap Effect of Stadium A would be $8 million (40% of $20 million). Under this Subsection, for this League Year, the League would “guarantee” that the Incremental Cap Effect from Stadium A would not be less than $10 million (e.g., 125% of $8 million). If the actual Incremental AR from Stadium A resulted in an Incremental Cap Effect of $8 million, then $5 million in additional AR would need to be imputed for the 2018 League Year to resolve the $2 million Shortfall so that the net Cap Effect from Stadium A would be $10 million. (If, on the other hand, the $20 million PSL exclusion was included in the Stadium Credit (that is, if 70% of $20 million is part of the 1.5% Stadium Credit being taken for the 2018 League Year), then Stadium A is not subject to the Cap Effect Guarantee, but any PSL exclusions for other stadiums not included in the Stadium Credit would be subject to the Cap Effect Guarantee. For the avoidance of doubt, this calculation will be done every year such excluded revenues are subject to the Cap Effect Guarantee.)

(g)

For purposes of this Section, for any PSL revenues subject to the Cap Effect Guarantee the amortization period for the exclusion shall begin in the League Year in which the new or renovated stadium opens.

(h)

For purposes of this Section, amounts shall count toward the Stadium Credit Threshold on a chronological basis (e.g., the portion of the Stadium Credit associated with the first League-approved project after the effective date of this Agreement shall be the first amounts included in the calculation of the Stadium Credit Threshold). Within each project, first the amount pursuant to Subsection (a) above shall be calculated, followed by any amount attributable to an AR exclusion as described in Subsection (b).