In something that fans of the Minnesota Vikings will soon. . .hopefully. . .be able to talk about themselves, the San Francisco 49ers today announced that they had received $200 million in stadium funding from the National Football League.

The loan comes as part of the NFL's "G4" program, which helps football team to finance new stadiums. The old program was known as the "G3" program, which had capped funds at $150 million per team. The Niners are the first team to get financing under the program after the signing of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which bumped up the amount the league could give the team to $200 million.

The loans will be paid back by revenues that are generated by premium seating, under the terms of the program.

I don't know a whole lot about the Niners' stadium financing stuff at this point, but the post at Niners Nation that's linked above says that an $850 million loan was taken out, and the $200 million from the league is independent of that $850 million, bringing the total for the stadium to a little more than. . .one BILLION dollars.

*raises pinky to mouth*

It's my understanding that, in the case of the Vikings, a $200 million contribution from the NFL is included in the amount that the Vikings have said they will contribute to a stadium project. (If anyone has heard differently, feel free to correct that in the comments.)

The NFL is willing to help with the stadium issue, folks. . .it's just a matter of the Vikings, the state, and whatever local partner the state deems to be acceptable figuring out the rest of the numbers somehow. Hopefully all of that will happen sooner rather than later, because the Minnesota Vikings and their fans deserve a new stadium that will allow their team will be competitive well into the future.