For quite a few years now, it’s been fairly common to see our military men and women honored by the NFL throughout the football seasons. As a Vietnam veteran, it is always heartwarming for me to see our troops get the recognition they deserve, and I’ve always given a lot of praise to the NFL for what I thought were displays of patriotism. Never did I think that money was the primary driving force behind their actions. Yet, that’s exactly what it was.
According to a recent report by Christopher Baxter and Jonathan Salant of NJ.com, the Department of Defense paid 14 NFL teams a total of $5.4 million over the last four years in exchange for patriotic displays at games. By some accounts, that number might actually be over $7 million.
According to the report, the New Jersey Army National Guard paid the New York Jets $377,000 to pay tribute to veterans and active-duty troops. Senator Jeff Flake called out the Jersey National Guard for paying for a segment at Jets home games in which soldiers were featured on the big screen, thanked for their service and given tickets to the game. The National Guard responded by asserting that it was a useful recruitment tool. And Senator John McCain said “I think it’s really disgraceful that NFL teams, whose profits are at an all-time high, had to be paid to honor our veterans”.
Here is the link to the article by CBS Sports, in which NJ.com lists all the teams the military had contracts with, and the dollar amounts of the contracts:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25181085/nfl-teams-received-54-million-from-defense-department-in-last-4-years
According to a recent report by Christopher Baxter and Jonathan Salant of NJ.com, the Department of Defense paid 14 NFL teams a total of $5.4 million over the last four years in exchange for patriotic displays at games. By some accounts, that number might actually be over $7 million.
According to the report, the New Jersey Army National Guard paid the New York Jets $377,000 to pay tribute to veterans and active-duty troops. Senator Jeff Flake called out the Jersey National Guard for paying for a segment at Jets home games in which soldiers were featured on the big screen, thanked for their service and given tickets to the game. The National Guard responded by asserting that it was a useful recruitment tool. And Senator John McCain said “I think it’s really disgraceful that NFL teams, whose profits are at an all-time high, had to be paid to honor our veterans”.
Here is the link to the article by CBS Sports, in which NJ.com lists all the teams the military had contracts with, and the dollar amounts of the contracts:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25181085/nfl-teams-received-54-million-from-defense-department-in-last-4-years