Stop NFL subsidies

Stop the NFL subsidies is a campaign to stop the subsidies to billionaire owners in the NFL who demand taxpayer subsidies that loot local communities and foment addiction to watching the game.

In 2022, the wealthy owners of the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, each of which was eliminated early in the playoffs, demand massive taxpayer subsidies to build new stadiums that would enrich the team owners.

In arguing against a subsidy for a new stadium for the Bills, whose family owners are worth billions of dollars, one commentator points out:

“  |  Five NFL stadiums have been built in the past decade. The one in Los Angeles, a $5 billion palace, was built for the Rams and Chargers with private money. The other four, built for the Vikings, Falcons, Raiders and 49ers, involved taxpayer subsidies ranging from $114 million (Santa Clara, CA) to $750 million (Las Vegas).[1] |  ”

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In fact, there are estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in indirect taxpayer subsidies for the new Los Angeles stadium (SoFi) too, in new roads and in tax breaks totaling $100 million.[2]

As explained below, Dems gave a $1.1 billion handout to the billionaire owners of the Buffalo Bills in 2022 anyway.

## Contents

* 1 Stadium subsidies
* 2 Subsidies in Europe
* 3 Abandonment of St. Louis
* 4 Sales Tax in Kansas City
* 5 See also
* 6 References

## Stadium subsidies[edit]

In 2022, the Democrat-arranged government subsidy of the Buffalo Bills planned new stadium, which is owned by a billionaire family, was the second largest in history and exceeded more than $1 billion government handouts to the wealthy owners:

“  |  The deal, struck between [New York Democrat Governor] Hochul and the billionaire Pegula family that owns the team, will be the second-largest taxpayer contribution to a sports stadium in history. Of the project’s $1.4 billion in projected construction costs, New York’s government is putting up $850 million, or 60 percent of the total. Hundreds of millions of dollars more were inked for upkeep of the stadium throughout its 30-year lease, bringing the public’s total projected expense to be more than $1.1 billion.[3] |  ”

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As TheStreet explains, "Thirty of the league's 31 stadiums were built with it and new stadiums in Atlanta, Minneapolis and Santa Clara are getting a whole lot of it."[4] Erie County and New York State has already paid $220 million for renovations to Ralph Wilson Stadium, for the Buffalo Bills owners. Paul Brown Stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals left their home county broke. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen to paid for $130 million of CenturyLink Field's costs, while taxpayers were left on the hook for an additional $300 million.

## Subsidies in Europe[edit]

"Italy’s most popular sport [soccer] received just $60m in subsidies from the government, which represents about 1/24 of the claimed losses" during the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Forbes in Jan. 2022.[5]

## Abandonment of St. Louis[edit]

The National Football League and Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke agreed to pay St. Louis $790 million in a settlement shortly before trial in St. Louis related to how the Rams left that city with stadium debt.

## Sales Tax in Kansas City[edit]

An increase in the county sales tax was put on the ballot in Kansas City to finance renovations to its professional sports stadiums.[6]

## See also[edit]

* Unplug the NFL

## References[edit]

1. ↑ https://www.investigativepost.org/2022/01/25/the-pegulas-should-pay-up/
2. ↑ https://buffalonews.com/news/local/pay-to-play-how-21-nfl-stadiums-have-been-financed/article_319a3686-0c28-11ec-a568-dbcbdd817498.html
3. ↑ https://readsludge.com/2022/06/25/hochuls-stadium-swindle/
4. ↑ https://www.thestreet.com/opinion/the-nfl-doesnt-discriminate-against-money-12692833
5. ↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danieleproch/2022/01/14/in-the-wake-of-omicron-surge-serie-a-set-5000-fan-limit-in-stadiums-was-this-the-right-choice/?sh=7b26c7fd35c0
6. ↑ https://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/mar/26/kc_stadium_vote_reaches_lawrence/