The San Francisco 49ers may play football games somewhere other than Levi's Stadium during the 2020 season if sporting events are not allowed to take place in Bay Area counties. The team is not alone. The other California-based teams—the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams—face a similar possibility. This is all due to continued concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, which continues to impact much of the country.
It is also possible that games are played at Levi's Stadium—and NFL stadiums across the country—but without fans in the seats. While that still holds some level of risk for those involved and the area, it is a better alternative to packing a sports venue with tens of thousands of fans for eight or more (depending on if preseason games are played and if the team hosts playoff games) times this year.
The NFL stands to lose $5.5 billion in stadium revenue this season, according to Forbes. That is the sum of tickets, concessions, sponsors, parking, and team stores for all 32 teams. Players would also lose money since 47 percent of football-related income goes to them thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement put in place in March.
Forbes also broke down the stadium-revenue losses per team. The 49ers rank No. 6 with the potential to miss out on $208 million this year. The Dallas Cowboys, of course, ranked No. 1 on the list and could lose $621 million, which is almost twice the amount of the team ranked at No. 2.
The numbers could actually be more, as these estimates are based on figures from a previous season.
The following is the ranking by Mike Ozanian of Forbes. Listed are rank, team, stadium revenue in millions, and total revenue in millions:
- Dallas Cowboys: 621, 950
- New England Patriots: 315, 600
- New York Giants: 262, 519
- Houston Texans: 218, 497
- New York Jets: 218, 475
- San Francisco 49ers: 208, 492
- Washington Redskins: 205, 493
- Atlanta Falcons: 204, 458
- Philadelphia Eagles 204, 482
- Green Bay Packers: 174, 456
- Miami Dolphins: 172, 443
- Chicago Bears: 166, 453
- Denver Broncos: 162, 446
- New Orleans Saints: 161, 441
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 156, 439
- Seattle Seahawks: 156, 439
- Baltimore Ravens: 153, 438
- Minnesota Vikings 152, 427
- Carolina Panthers: 143, 424
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 142, 424
- Kansas City Chiefs: 128, 410
- Los Angeles Rams: 121, 401
- Arizona Cardinals: 119, 400
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 119, 400
- Detroit Lions: 117, 385
- Cleveland Browns: 113, 399
- Indianapolis Colts: 112, 393
- Tennessee Titans: 110, 394
- Buffalo Bills: 104, 386
- Cincinnati Bengals: 99, 380
- Los Angeles Chargers: 93, 375
- Las Vegas Raiders: 77, 357