NFL Teams Have to Be Paid to Honor Military? Seriously?

14 NFL teams took tax dollars for patriotic pregame displays
NBC Sportstalk
Posted by Darin Gantt
May 11, 2015

The Jets are just as patriotic as anybody else, I’m sure.

But it’s easier to wave the red, white and blue when it comes with a healthy dose of green.

According to Christopher Baxter and Jonathan Salant of NJ.com, the New Jersey Army National Guard and the Department of Defense paid the Jets a total of $377,000 from 2011 to 2014 for the salutes and other advertising, citing federal contracts.

While the heartfelt salutes to military members seems like a win-win (good for the league’s image, high-visibility advertising for the military), the reality that it’s as much of an ad as the ones for beer and trucks does make it a bit distasteful, not to mention expensive.

According to their documents, the Defense Department has paid 14 NFL teams $5.4 million over the past four seasons for the patriotic displays.
read more here


Ok! Tracked back the link to the list of teams and it turns out that the report came from NJ.com

Which NFL teams got your federal tax dollars?
By Christopher Baxter | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
May 07, 2015

TRENTON — At the same time Congress and the president have imposed caps on military spending, the Department of Defense has paid $5.4 million in taxpayer money to 14 NFL teams across the country, including $377,500 to the Jets, with the bulk spent by the National Guard.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz) last week called out the New Jersey Army National Guard for the spending, which, in part, paid 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.
read more here

Here is the list. Suggest you go to the link back to New Jersey.com to see how much money they were paid to "honor" our military members at the same time they were getting pink slips while deployed to Afghanistan!

While they were being forced out of the military after being willing to sacrifice their lives for.

After they were betrayed with less than honorable discharges instead of being taken care of and helped to heal.

After their families were using food stamps to feed their kids.

After they were the subject of debate when it came to being able to raise their pay to a living wage!

If you get the impression I am furious over this you are not even close to what is coming out of my mouth while I attempt to type fairly calmly.

ATLANTA FALCONS FOOTBALL CLUB, LLC

BALTIMORE RAVENS LP

BUFFALO BILLS, INC.

CINCINNATI BENGALS, INC.

CLEVELAND BROWNS FOOTBALL COMPANY, LLC

DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL CLUB LTD

GREEN BAY PACKERS, INC.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, INC.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

MIAMI DOLPHINS, LTD.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS FOOTBALL

NEW YORK JETS LLC

PITTSBURGH STEELERS SPORTS INC

ST. LOUIS RAMS

Do you think they deserve some angry emails from you?

UPDATE

Deals Between National Guard and NFL Cause Stir
Los Angeles Times
by Nathan Fenno
May 12, 2015

At halftime of each home game last season, the New England Patriots invited a soldier on the field to honor the troops. Dressed in camouflage, they smiled and waved to the crowd during the feel-good moment.

However, the "True Patriot" program wasn't simply patriotism. It was part of a $225,000 advertising deal between the team and the Massachusetts and New Hampshire National Guard.

The military has long advertised at sporting events and during sports broadcasts as a way to reach potential recruits. But new revelations about deals between professional football teams and the National Guard have caused a stir over whether the military and the league should be more transparent about what's a display of goodwill toward the troops and what's a paid advertisement.

A report on government waste issued last week by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) detailed the expenditure and questioned why the Guard spent $49.1 million on professional sports sponsorships in 2014. Some of that money funded programs by NFL teams similar to the "True Patriot" program that appeared to honor the military but were actually part of advertising agreements with the Guard.
read more here