NFL putting $200 million into 49ers stadium SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The National Football League will put $200 million toward the construction of a planned $1 billion stadium for the San Francisco 49ers, team Chief Executive Jed York said on Thursday. The NFL just approved $200 million of funding for the Santa Clara stadium. A big step forward today," York said in a post on Twitter. Santa Clara officials said the NFL's investment exceeded their expectations for the long-awaited project, which will seat more than 68,000 spectators. "Originally we were expecting $150 million," said Carol McCarthy, Santa Clara's assistant city manager. Voters in the Silicon Valley city approved the stadium project in June 2010 and Santa Clara's city council, acting as the Santa Clara Stadium Authority, approved a plan in December to borrow $850 million from Goldman Sachs, U.S. Bank and Bank of America/Merrill Lynch to begin construction on the stadium this year. The loan will be repaid by rent on the stadium paid to the authority by the 49ers as well as from revenue from builders' licenses, luxury suite sales, naming rights and other sponsorship deals. Santa Clara's redevelopment agency will contribute up to $40 million to the stadium project. The agency is being phased out under a state law approved last year and if its tax-increment revenue is not available for the stadium project, the 49ers will have to make up the difference, said assistant city manager Alan Kurotori. Reporting By Jim Christie; Editing by Kenneth Barry