{"id":1470,"date":"2026-05-29T10:35:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:35:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1470"},"modified":"2026-05-29T10:35:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T10:35:50","slug":"the-world-cup-whats-in-it-for-nfl-owners-mostly-a-lot-of-hassle-and-not-much-revenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=1470","title":{"rendered":"The World Cup: What\u2019s in it for NFL owners? Mostly a lot of hassle and not much revenue."},"content":{"rendered":"
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ORLANDO \u2014 Dallas Cowboys owners Jerry and Stephen Jones love a big event. Their AT&T Stadium has hosted a Super Bowl, College Football Playoff national championship game, Final Four, and NBA All-Star Weekend.<\/span><\/p>\n

They are giddy about hosting nine World Cup matches this summer, the most of any stadium, including a semifinal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t sleep,\u201d Jerry Jones said recently at an NFL owners\u2019 meeting. \u201cThis is a great chance to associate with the worldwide love with soccer, and lets us put a little notch on our belt and share it with what soccer\u2019s about, too. They\u2019ll never be able to take away that we held those games in that stadium.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Joneses are also shrewd businessmen, building the Cowboys into a $13 billion behemoth that rates as the most valuable sports franchise in the world. Surely, the Joneses are turning a profit when hosting the World Cup?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, no,\u201d said Stephen Jones, the Cowboys\u2019 CEO. \u201cWe\u2019ll be shut down all summer. But it\u2019s worth it. I mean, this is about brand and, you know, being a part of something special.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Bragging rights and a place in history might be the most compelling reasons to host World Cup matches, because it\u2019s hard to see what\u2019s in it for NFL owners, financially speaking. The experience is riddled with expensive headaches and hoop-jumping, while FIFA keeps most of the revenue, projected to be around $11 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eleven NFL stadiums will host matches, but several of the league\u2019s cities, including Chicago, Washington, Minneapolis, Denver, and Phoenix, took a pass.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know more than a few teams weren\u2019t disappointed to lose the bid,\u201d said one NFL official from a city that won\u2019t be hosting.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 11 stadiums are built for football, not futbol. Seven had to be converted to natural grass (including Gillette Stadium), spending millions to install underground irrigation and ventilation. Domed stadiums in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, and Los Angeles also installed LED lighting to grow the grass indoors, and are blasting air conditioning and keeping their roofs closed for the duration of the tournament to create a greenhouse effect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Registration opens for Boston\u2019s official World Cup Fan Festival<\/div>\n

Several stadiums, such as in Los Angeles and Kansas City, spent millions to remove concrete, field suites, and lower-bowl seating to widen the playing surface to FIFA specifications.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another headache is FIFA\u2019s \u201cclean site\u201d policy, which requires the stadiums to conceal all corporate logos and advertising that aren\u2019t FIFA\u2019s exclusive partners. Gillette Stadium has been rebranded as \u201cBoston Stadium\u201d for the tournament, and all of its advertising has been concealed, including the \u201cGillette\u201d name out front (only one sign remains uncovered, for The Kraft Group). The one exception is the giant Mercedes-Benz logo on the roof of \u201cAtlanta Stadium,\u201d which is too cumbersome and expensive to cover up or remove.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are also opportunity costs. FIFA has an \u201cexclusive use\u201d agreement with all 16 venues across the United States, Canada and Mexico, meaning none of the stadiums can host other events for the next month and a half. In New England, hosting seven matches, it means pushing \u201cMonster Jam\u201d back from April to late July, and a concert series that usually ends in August or early September now goes through October, forcing the Patriots to play three of their first four games on the road. The Patriots Hall of Fame is also closed for two months for FIFA operations, and the team\u2019s pro shop had to relocate to Patriot Place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Other FIFA stadiums are simply forgoing concerts this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLast year we had a record year with concerts. We won\u2019t have any this year,\u201d Chiefs president Mark Donovan told Sports Business Journal. \u201cSo, you\u2019re giving that up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Immigrants say World Cup excitement is lacking<\/div>\n

Then there are the little hassles. The Giants and Jets couldn\u2019t host their draft parties at MetLife Stadium, and the Giants will hold the first two weeks of training camp in West Virginia. In Dallas, Jerry Jones has to cover the large window paneling that allows sunlight to beam through, and won\u2019t be able to watch the matches from his owners\u2019 suite.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019ve got to go someplace else, but that was a part of it,\u201d Jones said. \u201cWe did a lot of things to make this work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

FIFA is paying to rent out the stadiums (though the agreements have been kept under wraps), and local organizing committees are helping pay for many of the costs. But this doesn\u2019t appear to be a windfall for NFL owners. FIFA keeps the revenue from sponsorships, tickets, suites, merchandise, concessions, and parking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJust like the Super Bowl, they drive a hard bargain,\u201d Stephen Jones said. \u201cBut I think everybody understands how valuable it is to get to host an event like the World Cup in your building. We\u2019re just honored to get to be a part of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite FIFA\u2019s Draconian restrictions, the World Cup still brings benefits to some NFL owners. Seven also own teams in Major League Soccer, a league that formed following the 1994 World Cup in the United States, and they are hopeful for a similar boost in soccer this time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a great excitement around the World Cup, and I know the fan engagement, the fan interest will just grow dramatically,\u201d said Mark Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings and Orlando City SC. \u201cThe stars of the world, the great sport, so much of our youth are playing soccer and it\u2019s a great community bonder. So hopefully they come to a game after this. They\u2019ll get more excited about soccer and raise it to the next level.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Related: <\/span><\/span>Why does everything about the World Cup in Boston feel like such a slog?<\/div>\n

For the hosts who don\u2019t own MLS teams, their participation is more about being seen on TV, and helping the local economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s an enormous benefit of the economic engine of all of South Florida during the summertime, when maybe hotels aren\u2019t as full,\u201d said Tom Garfinkel, CEO of the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium. \u201cTo be able to showcase South Florida as a very important market for international soccer and bring the world to South Florida during the summer is a great thing for everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rarely do NFL owners act in anything but their best financial interests. But they may have met their match in the World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people that view the World Cup around the world is crazy, the numbers that I\u2019ve seen,\u201d Stephen Jones said. \u201cWe want to put on a great show, be a great host. This is a unique opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime deal, and everybody knows how big the World Cup is.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

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The Interview: Michael Silverman<\/div>\n
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Foxborough is the smallest of the host cities for the World Cup and with security funding finally resolved, millions are still needed for stadium improvements.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bragging rights and a place in history might be the most compelling reasons to host World Cup matches, because it\u2019s hard to see what\u2019s in it for NFL owners, financially speaking. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\nThe World Cup: What\u2019s in it for NFL owners? 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