Tottenham's real windfall from NFL fixtures is different to what many believe - Finance Guru

Tottenham Hotspur's profit from hosting American Football fixtures is far less "lucrative" than supporters are being led to believe.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that, while the separate revenue stream is positive, it is not nearly as profitable as it seems.

With Spurs facing Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday, 10 October, those behind the scenes got working on the pitch transformation back in North London.

The Tottenham pitch then played host to a huge clash between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 11 October.

With 61,322 fans, the game set a record attendance for an NFL game in Tottenham, having been hosting these since October 2019.

It has been suggested that these fixtures could be making upwards of £6million per game from rental fees, catering and merchandise, but that is now being heavily disputed.

Tottenham's profit 'isn't much more than £1m at the bottom line'

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson believes that Spurs' profit from each game is closer to £1m, rather than the reported £6m.

"I think it's unlikely, to be honest with you. That might be the gross revenue of the game. Does that sound about right?" he said.

"It could be, but they won't be taking £6million as their hosting fee per game, I would not think. And clearly anyway, there's quite a lot of cost that goes into an NFL game.

"There's the set-up and the pitch change and all that stuff, and the staffing. I don't think these games are worth much more than £1m at the bottom line.

"I'm a bit sceptical when you hear about these numbers at Spurs, and you hear about how important they are. I would take it with a pinch of salt generally, because not that much of it is falling through to the bottom line.

"Even where there's decent money on the revenue. Now, that's not to say it's not a good thing for Spurs to have.

"Clearly, if you have a completely separate revenue stream, that's a whole load of non-football events. Clearly that's very positive. It's just not as lucrative as is made out, from what I can see."

Tottenham windfall still positive

Whether it's £1m or £6m, or somewhere in between, it is still a useful revenue stream that Daniel Levy orchestrated during his time at the club.

With a minimum of two games a year, there is the potential for a decent windfall every 12 months, drawing more and more people to the stadium.

A record attendance only means that the games are catching more attention in England, and that can only mean good things for the sport and the Lilywhites.

Of course, £6m profit per game would be far more lucrative, but the reality is still much better than taking an operating loss on the fixtures.