The Broncos’ Burnham Yard project? On paper, it sure sounds grand.
But if you’re a Broncos season ticket-holder, based on current market forces, it might cost you two grand. At least.
The kids at the Grading The Week offices got a lot of letters last week from loyal Broncos readers that have the same three letters: P-S-L.
That acronym stands for “Personal Seat Licenses,” and it’s the NFL’s new money. Or rather, NFL owners’ new money.
PSLs are an up-front fee charged for the “right” to then purchase season tickets for a specific seat. It’s not a new concept, but one that’s become more common as NFL ownership groups look to raise revenue that offsets the cost of stadium/stadium-adjacent construction.
It’s something of an accounting workaround for NFL fat cats, especially if they’ve agreed to privately fund stadium construction or renovation rather than use taxpayer dollars. Public funding has become a tough sell in many NFL markets — even Kansas City, where the Chiefs have appeared in five of the last six Super Bowls and won three titles. A bill was proposed in the Illinois legislature earlier this year that would require pro sports teams in the state to post at least a .500 record over three out of five seasons to receive taxpayer funds toward renovating or building a new home.
Capitalism 101 says you never share the wealth but always try to cap or defray costs. With privately financed stadiums, that means shifting a chunk of that bill to season-ticket holders.
Burnham Yard Plan — A-minus
GTW’s calculator crowd loves that the stadium’s expected to stay downtown. They love that the Broncos plan to finance it themselves. They love the potential for year-round events — Final Fours, Super Bowls, World Cups, concerts— around the old railyard.
Broncos PSL chatter — C
That said, they don’t love all the fine print. Team GTW got turned on last week to a site called PSLSource.com, a third-party marketplace for buying and selling PSLs, parking and season tickets. Full disclosure: They didn’t exactly love what they found.
PSLSource.com featured listings on seat licenses for 18 NFL franchises. The per-seat PSL “right” ranged from $50 (Cleveland) to $10,000 (Seattle).
Of the 18 teams, 12 licenses were selling for at least $1,000 a pop. The average minimum license fee: $2,744.72.
The Broncos report a season-ticket wait list of “more than 100,000 names.” Which means the team can find plenty of buyers willing to fill the void if there are any longtime Broncomaniacs dissuaded from paying for a PSL.
More disclosure: GTW has friends who’ve held Broncos season tickets for a long, long time. We’d hate to see them priced out of a family heirloom and community tradition just because that’s how it was done with the Rams. And Bills. And Titans.
Forbes.com updated its “Richest Owners In Sports” database a few days back, and Broncos owner Rob Walton checked in at No. 2, with an estimated net worth of $118 billion. (The Clippers’ Steve Ballmer topped the list at $153 billion.)
The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group has been respectful of Broncos Country with almost every decision they’ve made since purchasing the team in 2022. They’ve spared almost no expense when it comes to “getting it right,” whether that be coaches, players or facilities. The Broncos are becoming a model franchise not just in the NFL, but all of North American sports. If any group could “afford” to either forgo PSLs or try to cap PSL costs, it’s them.
Unfortunately, the team’s Burnham Yard pronouncements didn’t elaborate on the subject. However, a survey the Broncos sent to fans in 2023 did broach the topic. We hope we’re wrong, but it doesn’t take an economics degree to do some of the math on that one.
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