NFL Raising Debt Ceiling to Make up for Lost Revenue is Everything That’s Wrong With American Sports

While different American sports leagues are figuring out ways to start and/or finish their regular seasons due to COVID-19, the NFL has the most time to plan its next move since the campaign is not due to start until September.

The most important number for these two parties involved is the bottom line. It is rare for this to happen, but the question to be considered is simple: How can the league and the owners not lose money while also having a season?

My @ESPNNFL newser: League and team officials have agreed on a proposal to raise the debt limit $150 million for each team to help make up for lost revenue in the event that games are played without fans, per sources. Will be voted on next week.https://t.co/wmEwB9YwGx
— Seth Wickersham (@SethWickersham) May 12, 2020

According to ESPN, the league is raising the debt ceiling for each team from $350 million to $500 million going into the 2020 season in order to prepare for possibly playing games without fans. Commissioner Roger Goodell is doing the right thing to take the next steps towards playing games without fans because it is a possibility. The wrong move, however, was giving each team an additional $150 million to balance out the losses of not having fans.

NFL owners are expected to vote during next Tuesday's video conference on raising the current per-team debt limit, source says. It's currently $350 million per team and last was raised in 2018. Current consideration of another raise first was reported by @SethWickersham.
— MarkMaske (@MarkMaske) May 12, 2020

This is just a simple representation of American sports as a whole. If a team or a league is having a financial issue, then just throw more money at the problem. If the teams can lose tens of millions of dollars on gate revenues, they should not need $150 million more to recover from the losses.

United States sports ownership is considered a success primarily by the profit margin, rather than wins, losses and brand recognition. This is why the NFL has deemed it a necessity to give its owners a safety net when, quite frankly, they have enough in their savings to take on the risk.