$4.3 billion startup SoFi plans to buy the naming rights to Los Angeles' new NFL stadium for $400 million

Source: Business Insider:::

May 30, 2019 at 12:03

The LA Rams stadium is seen under construction in Inglewood, California on May 9, 2019. Daniel Slim/Getty Images

Social Financial, the $4.3 billion personal money management startup, is reportedly planning to purchase the naming rights to Los Angeles' new NFL stadium for $400 million, according to the Venuesnow.com

Welcome to SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers.

That's what LA football fans have to look forward to in the 2020 NFL season if a reported $400 million naming rights deal goes through.

According to Venuesnow.com, online personal money management firm Social Financial (SoFi) is planning to acquire the naming rights to Los Angeles' new NFL stadium.SoFi will pay $400 million for exclusive naming rights for the next 20 years, according to the report.

At a rate of $20 million per year, Venuesnow.com reports that the deal is similar in structure to the agreement MetLife signed for the naming rights to the New York Giants and Jets stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Anonymous sources told Venuesnow that the stadium's representatives had hoped to sign a deal for $35 million to $40 million per year.

Los Angeles was without an NFL team for two decades between 1995 to 2016, but the new stadium will play host to both the Rams and the Chargers. The new stadium in Inglewood, California will cost a projected $5 billion and occupies a 300-acre site controlled by Rams owner Stan Koenke. The Rams reached the Super Bowl earlier this year, their third since returning to Los Angeles.

While the official name is still to be determined, the stadium is expected to open in 2020. The NFL has already planned to bring the Super Bowl to Los Angeles in 2022, and the stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2028 Olympics.

The report arrives just a few weeks after SoFi landed a $500 million funding package from the Qatar Investment Authority, raising the startup's valuation to $4.3 billion.

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto was the NFL's Chief Financial Officer from 2008 to 2010.

VenuesNow reports that SoFi's chief marketing officer, Joanne Bradford, left the company due to a disagreement over investing in the stadium naming rights. SoFi has also sponsored other sporting events, like this year's NBA playoffs, and the Big 10 college basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.