The NFL has announced it is borrowing $78 million from minority-focused banks around the country, including Atlanta’s Citizens Trust Bank.
“We are honored to be among the community banks chosen to be a part of this pivotal and impactful transaction,” said Cynthia N. Day, president and CEO of Citizens Trust Bank, in an email statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Expanding our relationships with large, mainstream institutions like the NFL continues to allow us to further our mission.”
The loans continue the NFL’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts aimed at economic advancement, said Joe Siclare, the NFL’s executive vice president of finance and league policy.
The loans from banks across the country range from $1 million to $10 million, Siclare said.
“These banks play a vital role in our economy because they serve communities that otherwise, I think it’s fair to say, would be underserved by the large global banks or national banks,” Siclare said.
The NFL partnered on this initiative with the National Black Bank Foundation, which is based in Atlanta. NBBF provides legal, regulatory and operational support to Black-owned banks. The foundation helped the NFL identify minority banks around the country, Siclare said. Many of the 16 banks the NFL selected are in cities with league franchises.
The NBBF’s work with the NFL is not its first dip into professional sports. The foundation partnered with the Atlanta Hawks in 2020 to finance a practice facility. Major League Soccer also leveraged a $25 million loan from Black banks in March last year, a partnership facilitated by the NBBF, according to a release from its website.
“Being able to be a Black-owned bank and show that you can do a complex deal with a large brand like the NFL, that reverberates to your customers,” said Ashley Bell, co-founder of the NBBF. “Your customers see, if my bank can do a deal with the National Football League for millions of dollars, then I can trust them with the loan for my home or the loan for my business.”
The revenue banks make from these transactions can be reinvested back into the community, Bell said, perhaps as loans for small community businesses. Bell also noted the importance of having an Atlanta bank included in a national-scale transaction such as the one with the NFL.
“Atlanta is the capital of Black banking in America,” Bell said. “It’s another example of how Atlanta should be and continues to be at the forefront of these impactful decisions that are being made.”
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