It’s not so iron clad after all, and this has Chiefs season-ticket holders seeing red.

The NFL has rejected a $1-per-ticket surcharge to help pay maintenance at Arrowhead Stadium. Instead, the Chiefs and Jackson County are proposing a $131 “season-ticket license fee” for the next three seasons, or $43.67 each year per season ticket.

Under the lease approved by voters, each ticket sold at Arrowhead would have included a $1 surcharge starting when construction ended through the 2030 season. This would have cost season-ticket holders $10 a year for two preseason and eight regular-season games.

The NFL rejected the surcharge this summer, even though the county’s lease with the Chiefs called for the NFL to sign off on the lease by March 15. Negotiators for the Chiefs notified the county in August, but the issue didn’t become public until Monday.

Representatives for the Chiefs said the NFL’s staff had recommended the $1-a-ticket-surcharge. Ultimately, the NFL decided money from the surcharge would have to be shared with other teams and players through the league’s revenue-sharing agreement.

During the climax of the lease negotiations in January, Legislator Fred Arbanas, a Chiefs Hall of Famer, led the push for a ticket surcharge to ensure that all game-goers helped pay the costs and that they weren’t borne solely by Jackson County residents.

County voters approved a 3/8-cent sales tax to raise the bulk of the money for renovations at Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums. The sales tax took effect Sunday.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said on Monday that he had no information on the NFL’s actions, so he could not comment on it.

Public Hearing
The Jackson County Legislature will hold a public hearing at 2:30 p.m. Monday for residents’ comments on the proposed $131 fee over three years for Chiefs season-ticket holders. The meeting will be at the Independence Courthouse Annex, 308 W. Kansas, in the ground-floor legislative chamber. Legislators are scheduled to vote after the hearing.