The San Francisco 49ers are currently gearing up for a 2025-26 season that will see them try to bounce back from last year’s disastrous campaign. The 49ers have already shelled out some serious cash this offseason, most notably to quarterback Brock Purdy on a brand new contract extension, but their big spending won’t be ending anytime soon.
In 2026, Levi Stadium will host not only the Super Bowl but also select World Cup games the following summer when the event sets its sights on America.
According to Mike Florio of NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk, “the 49ers previously agreed to cover a $37 million deficit for the Bay Area Host Committee, if the committee fails to raise enough money to conduct six matches at the Santa Clara venue.”
Florio also noted that both the 49ers and the host committee have been lobbying for more funding from the California government, but as of yet have received none from Governor Gavin Newsom.
Florio reported that “the event is expected to cost $50 million to stage, with the project losing money.”
It’s a dubious business proposition at best for the 49ers as well as the local economy.
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The 49ers will be hoping that by the time the World Cup rolls around, they will be celebrating a Super Bowl championship that would have been won a few months earlier.
The 49ers very nearly broke through to championship glory in 2023-24 before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime of that year’s Super Bowl, and then saw injuries and regression pull them out of the playoff race altogether the following year.
However, with Purdy’s future secured and a series of trades and signings so far this offseason, San Francisco is hoping to return to their run of dominance in the NFC this season before potentially hosting the Super Bowl at their own stadium in eight months.
That would make the World Cup bill a bit easier to stomach.
