What NFL Teams Are Making With Limited Fan Capacity

Of the staggering $16 billion the NFL earned in revenue last season, $5.5 billion of that came from stadium revenue. That includes money from ticket sales, parking, concessions and merchandise.

Now take those numbers and throw them out the window for the 2020 season. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. Each NFL franchise is taking a huge revenue hit because attendance has to be limited for health-related reasons. Fourteen teams haven’t allowed fans at all yet this season, and the rest are restricting attendance to far below capacity.

Read on for a look at the 18 NFL teams that have allowed fans this season and how much they’re making, ranked by the total potential revenue per game, from least to most. While ticket revenue was based on the allowed capacity and average ticket price, fan revenue was based on the cost of a hot dog, soda and other items fans might purchase. Despite hosting fans, these teams are surely losing a big chunk of money due to those empty seats in the stands.

Last updated: Dec. 11, 2020

• Allowed capacity: 4,200
• Ticket revenue: $237,762
• Fan revenue: $184,758
• Total potential revenue per game: $422,520

• Allowed capacity: 3,200
• Ticket revenue: $213,120
• Fan revenue: $220,768
• Total potential revenue per game: $433,888

• Allowed capacity: 4,000
• Ticket revenue: $293,040
• Fan revenue: $186,760
• Total potential revenue per game: $479,800

• Allowed capacity: 5,240
• Ticket revenue: $335,025
• Fan revenue: $220,997
• Total potential revenue per game: $556,022

• Allowed capacity: 5,700
• Ticket revenue: $398,601
• Fan revenue: $263,255
• Total potential revenue per game: $661,856

• Allowed capacity: 5,500
• Ticket revenue: $384,615
• Fan revenue: $299,475
• Total potential revenue per game: $684,090

• Allowed capacity: 6,000
• Ticket revenue: $399,600
• Fan revenue: $344,940
• Total potential revenue per game: $744,540

• Allowed capacity: 6,000
• Ticket revenue: $491,508
• Fan revenue: $382,440
• Total potential revenue per game: $873,948

• Allowed capacity: 8,600
• Ticket revenue: $492,574
• Fan revenue: $453,005
• Total potential revenue per game: $945,579

• Allowed capacity: 12,000
• Ticket revenue: $615,384
• Fan revenue: $465,360
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,080,744

• Allowed capacity: 12,000
• Ticket revenue: $599,400
• Fan revenue: $605,880
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,205,280

• Allowed capacity: 12,500
• Ticket revenue: $782,550
• Fan revenue: $657,750
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,440,300

• Allowed capacity: 13,000
• Ticket revenue: $839,826
• Fan revenue: $711,620
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,551,446

• Allowed capacity: 13,300
• Ticket revenue: $1,018,647
• Fan revenue: $634,743
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,653,390

• Allowed capacity: 16,791
• Ticket revenue: $872,259
• Fan revenue: $903,356
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,775,615

• Allowed capacity: 16,473
• Ticket revenue: $910,567
• Fan revenue: $885,726
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,796,293

• Allowed capacity: 16,000
• Ticket revenue: $895,104
• Fan revenue: $967,840
• Total potential revenue per game: $1,862,944

• Allowed capacity: 20,000
• Ticket revenue: $1,505,160
• Fan revenue: $1,539,800
• Total potential revenue per game: $3,044,960

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Methodology: In order to find how much NFL teams are making with limited capacity, GOBankingRates first found which NFL teams are allowing fans to watch games as sourced from ESPN. With the 18 teams allowing fans isolated, GOBankingRates then found the (1) allowed capacity per team as sourced from ESPN, (2) average ticket price as sourced from Forbes’ Sports Money: 2020 NFL Valuations and (3) ticket revenue calculated by multiplying factors No. 1 and 2 and then taking a third out that goes to the league, to be distributed to all franchises as the visiting teams’ share. Next, GOBankingRates used Team Marketing Report’s 2019 NFL Fan Cost Index data to find each team’s stadium’s (4) price of parking, (5) price of a hot dog, (6) price of beer, (7) price of soft drink and (8) price of merch item. GOBankingRates then found (9) fan revenue calculated as half of all fans paying for (4) parking and purchasing one (5) hot dog, (6) beer, (7) soft drink and (8) merch item. Factors No. 3 and 9 were then combined to get (10) total revenue potential per game. All data was collected and is up to date as of Nov. 3, 2020.