Gayle Benson outlines succession plans to keep Saints, Pelicans in New Orleans

New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson revealed the teams' long-term succession plans in detail on Wednesday in an interview with The Times-Picayune and WVUE-TV that they would be sold with the goal of keeping both teams in New Orleans and distributing the proceeds to charity.

Benson and Saints president Dennis Lauscha said the proceeds would be distributed to charities that benefit the people of New Orleans in the fields of education, health care, arts and sciences and humanitarian efforts.

According to a report (h/t ESPN), the decision to distribute proceeds to New Orleans-based charities originated when Tom Benson was still the owner.

The teams' succession plans have become a topic of discussion because the Saints are in long-term lease-extension talks with Louisiana and the Caesars Superdome.

Lauscha said a lease extension would keep the Saints in New Orleans long term, even if ownership were to change, because the NFL has a policy against breaching lease terms to switch markets. 

The NFL awarded its 16th franchise to New Orleans in November 1966, and the team began play in September 1967. The Saints have won one Super Bowl since then, courtesy of Drew Brees in 2010.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, were established as the New Orleans Hornets in the 2002-03 season when the owner of the Charlotte Hornets, George Shinn, relocated the franchise to New Orleans. 

When New Orleans changed its name to the Pelicans in 2014, the Charlotte Bobcats got the name Hornets along with the history of the Hornets from 1988-2002.