San Francisco’s cavernous Moscone Center was far from capacity the morning after Seattle’s 29-13 dismantling of New England on Sunday in Santa Clara.
The week leading up to Super Bowl LX and the culmination of the 2025 NFL season had seen thousands of media members traipsing through its carpeted halls for radio row sit-downs and various press conferences. By Monday, only a few dozen remained to see a self-congratulatory press conference with officials from the league, Bay Area and Los Angeles, host of next year’s Super Bowl LXI.
Commissioner Roger Goodell began by declaring the NFL ‘could not have had a better week’ in the Bay Area, where fears of friction between ICE agents and protesters failed to materialize. Instead, fans at Levi’s Stadium were treated to Bad Bunny’s halftime show, and while millions of conservatives instead watched Turning Point USA’s alternative at home, festive ticket holders were happy dance along in Santa Clara.
There was even more to celebrate on the bottom line.
‘We’ve done about $500 million of economic impact in the Bay Area this week,’ San Francisco 49ers owner Jed York said Monday. ‘Over 100,000 room nights [at hotels], countless events in the communities, we’ve donated close to $10 million back in the community just this week and that’s a part of the lasting impact.’
Receiving the Super Bowl baton at the press conference, as well as a ceremonial football, was a member of Los Angeles’ organizing committee. It’s been just four years since LA last hosted the Super Bowl, which may seem like a short turnaround, but it’s hard to question the business decisions of a league with this cash flow.
It was just 15 years ago that Goodell set the goal of reaching $25 billion in revenue by 2027. The NFL hit a reported $23 billion in 2024 and now there is confidence Goodell’s mark will be already reached when the books are finalized for the 2025 season.
California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, from left, poses with Roger Goodell, Kathryn Schloessman of the LA Sports and Entertainment Commission and Rams safety Quentin Lake
San Francisco 49ers team president Al Guido, from left, listens next to 49ers team owner Jed York and others as the Bay Area passes off Super Bowl hosting duties to Los Angeles
Seahawks coach Mike MacDonald smiles with the Lombardi Trophy alongside Roger Goodell
And the NFL’s juggernaut is showing no signs of wilting as it heads into 2026.
Teams will play overseas nine times next season as the league continues expanding its global footprint, all while Goodell and team owners continue pushing reluctant health-conscious players to add an 18th game to the schedule.
The cash flow is benefiting the players, too, in the form a rising salary cap and higher rookie contracts, both of which are determined by revenue, per CBA rules.
And that rising salary cap proved consequential for both the NFC and AFC champions, who made the most of the free-agent market heading into the 2025 season.
In what may have the the bargain of the offseason, the Seahawks dropped $100 million on a three-year contract for the Vikings’ Sam Darnold, who replicated his breakout 2024 campaign in Minnesota with another 4,000-yard passing performance. The Seahawks also added Washington native Cooper Kupp, who became one of Darnold’s favorite receivers in 2025, and DeMarcus Lawrence, who remained productive at 32 for a defense that proved unstoppable on Sunday.
The Patriots, too, scored big in free agency, signing ex-Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams to a four-year, $104 million. New England ranked fourth in yards allowed and eighth in defensive scoring as Williams returned to the Super Bowl for the second consecutive season.
The LA Super Bowl planning committee has released the Super Bowl LXI official logo
Matthew Stafford, the new MVP, will be back in 2026 to lead the Super Bowl-contending Rams
Will Travis Kelce be back in 2026? And what will the Kansas City Chiefs look like if he is
Free agency should have an even bigger impact in 2026.
The NFL’s salary cap is expected to jump more than $20 million per team next season to somewhere between $301.2 million and $305.7 million. To put that in perspective, the cap didn’t eclipse $200 million until as recently as 2022. And at the onset of the millennium, it was just $63.2 million.
That’s great news for the Los Angeles Rams, who could have $40 million in cap space to fill out a team that was one win away an NFC championship this season and already boasts 2025 MVP Matthew Stafford.
But it may prove even more significant for teams like the injury-plagued Kansas City Chiefs, who are already $57 million over the cap and in desperate need of a makeover after missing the playoffs.
Tight end Travis Kelce has not confirmed his status for the 2026 season, but the soon-to-be free agent is expected back in Kansas City after the return of his favorite offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy. Then there is quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery and hoping to be back by Week 1.
If there is going to be a renaissance in Kansas City, it will need to come through the draft, where the Chiefs are in the unusual position of picking ninth overall.
The last time the team picked in the top 10, they came away with Mahomes. This time, the prize may be Notre Dame running back and Heisman Trophy finalist Jeremiyah Love, whose former running backs coach in South Bend is reportedly scheduled for an interview with Chiefs coach Andy Reid in Kansas City.
One of the biggest changes in 2026: John Harbaugh will be taking over the New York Giants
Will Aaron Rodgers reunite with his former Packers coach, Mike McCarthy, in Pittsburgh?
The upcoming draft, set for Pittsburgh in late April, will be highlighted by Heisman winner and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza. He’s expected to go first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders unless minority owner Tom Brady and his new coach, outgoing Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, instead opt to trade the pick for a veteran passer.
Pittsburgh could also be the site of a major reunion in 2026 if Aaron Rodgers decides to return to the Steelers and their new coach, local ‘Yinzer’ Mike McCarthy, who last won a Super Bowl alongside the quarterback 15 years ago with Green Bay.
In total, the league saw 10 coaching changes, including John Harbaugh’s dismissal in Baltimore and his subsequent move to the New York Giants.
All of that upheaval points to a new hierarchy among NFL teams, which already took shape in 2025, with the ascension of Seattle, New England and Denver among other upstart teams.
But while the standings underwent a dramatic change from 2024 to 2025, 2026 will have a familiar feel: The NFL will make lots of money and then toast its success in another California convention center.
