The unprecedented resurgence of the New Orleans Saints after Hurricane Katrina raised the stakes for keeping the team in the city. But when critics balked at the generous taxpayer-funded incentives to keep the team, owner Tom Benson agreed in 2009 to renegotiate terms with the state.
Seven years later, the resulting deal has proven just as lucrative to Louisiana's richest man -- and potentially more so.
Before the state renegotiated its agreement with Benson, there was no mystery as to how much money taxpayers were spending to keep the team in town.
"It was a set amount that just kept ratcheting up every couple of years," said Doug Thornton, executive vice president of SMG, the company that manages operations at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and Smoothie King Center.