Dear NFL: Thanks for Nothing

The Niners' new stadium, courtesy of everybody
except the NFL.

Update: the NFL is chipping in $150 million. Not exactly chump change, but far less than what the Niners were likely expecting...and deserve.

The good news: the 49ers and the city of Santa Clara announced that they have secured all of the funds needed for the construction of the new stadium.

The bad news: apparently, the league is contributing a grand total of ZERO dollars to this project.

Look, I can understand the NFL's reluctance to give the 49ers the usual financial assistance if they weren't going to share a stadium with the Raiders. But refusing to give a single dime to the 49ers tells me once again that this team is not a priority to a league that rarely recognizes anything that happens west of the Mississippi.

Kudos to Lil' Jed and the rest of the organization for working with Santa Clara, B of A, US Bank and Goldman Sachs for getting the rest of the money needed for the stadium, and shame on the NFL for keeping their wallets tightly closed when one of their oldest franchises asked for a little help.

My only concern with this deal is that, since the NFL doesn't have a large financial stake in this stadium venture, they won't be motivated to have Santa Clara and the 49ers host any future Super Bowls. And from what I've seen from the way the league treats the 49ers organization over the past decade or so, that wouldn't be much of a stretch.