"McCain leads new effort to end paid NFL military tributes"

2015-07-10T11:29:36-04:00

From: Stripes
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WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain on Thursday proposed legislation that would stop Pentagon funding of troop tributes at NFL games.

McCain, along with fellow Arizona Republican Jeff Flake and Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal, wants to add the prohibition to the Senate’s version of the annual defense authorization act after revelations last month that the league was paid nearly $7 million by the military over the past three years for the tributes.

The payments sparked public criticism and follow other recent problems with the military’s relationship to professional sports.

“Our amendment would put an end to that shameful practice and ask the NFL to return those profits to charities supporting our troops, veterans and their families,” McCain said on the Senate floor.

In one example, the Army National Guard paid the New England Patriots $675,000 for an advertising deal that included bringing a soldier on the field at halftime, he said.

The guard had similar contracts with 21 other NFL teams, according to McCain.

“What makes these expenditures all the more troubling is that at the same time the Guard was spending millions on pro sports advertising, it was also running out of money for critical training for our troops,” McCain said.

In 2014, the Guard was facing a shortfall of more than $100 million in the account used to pay its soldiers and potential delays in training, he said. Last year, the Guard came under fire from Congress and discontinued its sponsorship of NASCAR after spending $88 million over two years on a failed bid to increase recruitment.

Flake said he is still waiting for a full accounting on the military’s sports advertising agreements from the Pentagon.

Despite the controversy, Flake said the NFL tributes were done for the right reasons and warned about discounting the support that league teams give to servicemembers and veterans.

“The problem is when some teams are accepting money to do what has been termed ‘paid-for patriotism’ then it cheapens all the other good work that is done by these sports teams and others,” he said.

The legislation may be added as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive bill that directs military priorities for the coming year. The Senate is expected to pass its version by next week.

http://www.stripes.com/mccain-leads-new-effort-to-end-paid-nfl-military-tributes-1.350715

Response by SSgt Charles Edwards made Jul 10 at 2015 11:38 AM

2015-07-10T11:38:00-04:00

I can get behind this. Why should the military have to pay to have its members and veterans recognized? Does the Susan G. Komen organization pay for breast cancer awareness month every October? Unlikely. The league makes enough money from television revenue, ticket sales and merchandise purchases to get by without forcing military units to cough up hundreds of thousands of dollars just to make an appearance.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 10 at 2015 1:15 PM

2015-07-10T13:15:06-04:00

I have to agree with McCain on this one. That $7 Million can be used by the military on much better things. The NFL makes a ton of money and should actually be funding these tributes themselves. Just my two cents

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Jul 10 at 2015 1:17 PM

2015-07-10T13:17:36-04:00

I was actually shocked to hear that the military was actually paying the NFL for these tributes. I'm supportive of this effort.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 10 at 2015 1:20 PM

2015-07-10T13:20:39-04:00

Concur....additionally having been stationed at a base where this is done frequently there are 100s if not 1000s of lost man hours for these events....I say do away with them unless it's a special occasion like Service Birthday, or Veterans/Memorial Day....otherwise just play the game

Response by SFC Joseph Bosley made Jul 10 at 2015 1:46 PM

2015-07-10T13:46:17-04:00

If they are doing ti for the right reasons then why do they have to get paid to do it then?

Response by PO1 Dustin Adams made Jul 10 at 2015 5:46 PM

2015-07-10T17:46:02-04:00

I just wonder what pot of money this is coming from? If it is from advertising/recruitment, considering the average cost of a 30 second commercial run during national primetime is around $500k up to $3.5mil during Super Bowl it may actually be a bargain.

That said it still comes across as shady for the NFL to present it as appreciation when they are getting paid for it.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2019 7:15 PM

2019-08-05T19:15:39-04:00

I say pay for the advertising and the majority of the Soldiers whom either flyover or attend greatly appreciate it. I was awarded the privilege of attending g a Jaguars game free (along with my brother, his wife and son) along with ringing the GruntStyle bell to begin the 4th quarter. Guarantee this money spent (16 games x 16 weeks = 256 games which is 27000 a game) goes for fuel for flyovers, tickets, food and everything contained for the soldiers attending and likely a good majority of them stayed in the field to watch the games. Just saying 7M is less than 1% of the military budget