The Real NFL Scandal

[unhappycamper]

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/thom-hartmann/60777/the-real-nfl-scandal

The Real NFL Scandal
Corporate America | Sports | Taxes
by Thom Hartmann | February 3, 2015 - 9:50am

Seattle's decision to throw the ball at the goal line with 20 seconds to go in last night's Super Bowl was a costly one. But in the long run, it won't be nearly as costly to the rest of the United States as the National Football League (NFL) itself.

Every year, the NFL rakes in around $9.5 billion in revenue. Its commissioner, Roger Goodell, meanwhile, has an annual salary of $44 million. And while those numbers might make sense for any big business, the NFL isn't a business - not technically, at least.

According to the Public Law 89-800, it's a 501(c)6 tax-exempt nonprofit. That's right, a nonprofit. In other words, the NFL, one of the most lucrative organizations in all of sports, is subsidized by you and me the taxpayers.

If that sounds ridiculous and absurd, that's because it is ridiculous and absurd.

[jakeXT]

1. So will the NFL lose its tax exemption? (2014 article )

There’s a few things going against any actual movement to take away the NFL’s non-profit status, said Professor Matthew Dallek, an associate professor of political management at George Washington University. “I think it’s very hard in this [political] environment to get anything of substance passed,” he pointed out. It’s also the middle of campaign season meaning that politicians are unlikely to do anything to upset their base — and despite recent struggles the NFL still remains incredibly popular.

And they’ve spent a lot of money to be popular in Congress. According to OpenSecrets.org, a blog that tracks political spending, the NFL has donated millions in campaign contributions to political leaders in the past few years and spent more than $1.6 million in lobbying Congress in the past 18 months.

Dallek told USA TODAY Sports that he believes the senators who have introduced legislation to take away the NFL’s non-profit status are just looking for action from the league.

“I think it is more of a symbolic gesture,” he said.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/09/nfl-tax-exempt