NFL Pays NO Income Tax

[Palehorse]

How many of the ardent football fans on this board knew that the NFL is a "Non-Profit" organization, and as such pay NO income tax?

Seriously?

They aren't a religious organization, and most of the stadiums throughout this land have been built using taxpayer dollars! 

Combine this with the "blackout rule" that subjects the legions of fans to being forced to listen to games on the radio while the rest of the nation watches, all because the team didn't sell out 72 hours before game time, and you can see where this is going. . .

Football is football, and the league shouldn't be enjoying a not for profit status when it is raping the taxpayers of this nation to fund its palatial stadiums. . . 

[me]

NFL is non-profit??????  I know the players do a lot for charities but since when does the organization itself do that much?  Unless I just don't happen to hear about it I've never seen anything where they're done a thing for any charity. 

[Palehorse]

The National Football League takes in more than $9.5 billion per year and is exempt from Federal taxes. As a nonprofit, it earns more than the Y, the Red Cross, Goodwill, the Salvation Army or Catholic Charities – yet it stands as one of the greatest profit-generating commercial advertising, entertainment and media enterprises ever created.
. . .

An arcane tax code change that eased the 1966 merger of the NFL with the old American Football League landed the new combined entity in section 501(c)6 of the tax code, designated as an industry association. The designation actually covers "chambers of commerce, real estate boards, boards of trade, and professional football leagues." This does not cover the league's 32 individual franchises, which also rake in billions. . . .
. . .

And the NFL is not alone. . .the "nonprofit" Professional Golfers Association Tour, the National Hockey League and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.


http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomwatson/2014/01/30/the-real-super-bowl-question-should-the-nfl-be-a-nonprofit/

I for one, did not realize the NFL is a not for profit entity; and it sickens me to come to know this. The linked to article cam rout in January of this year, and I never read it until today. . . 

[Exterminator]

I thought I had mentioned this on this forum somewhere before...apparently not.  Pretty startling; huh?

[Henry Hawk]

Another reason as to WHY we need to abolish the IRS and replace it with a nationwide federal sales tax.

[Exterminator]

WTF?  Maybe we should eliminate the influence big money has in the legislative process first?

[Locutus]

Combine this with the "blackout rule" that subjects the legions of fans to being forced to listen to games on the radio while the rest of the nation watches, all because the team didn't sell out 72 hours before game time, and you can see where this is going. . .

Here's an interesting opinion piece on this very thing.  I posted it on the NFL Speak thread, but I'lll post it here too since this very subject is being discussed.

(CNN) -- This weekend marks the kickoff of what millions of Americans have been looking forward to since the final minutes of Seattle's Super Bowl victory in early February -- another football season.

Players, primed and ready, will take to the field, inspired to make their mark on the new season. Loyal fans, football-starved from a long offseason, will tune in to cheer on their hometown teams. No one can avoid the nervous energy that defines the start of a new season.

But one thing fans should never have to worry about is whether or not this week's game will be impossible to watch due to a TV blackout.

It is unfortunate that we will kick off yet another football season with federal rules on the books that serve only to protect the leagues at the expense of sports fans.

One of these rules is the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) sports blackout rule, which prohibits a cable or satellite company from carrying a game that is blacked-out within the local broadcast area. While this affects leagues beyond the NFL, it occurs most often when, under the NFL's rules, a home game does not sell out at least 72 hours before kickoff.

Under the FCC's sports blackout rule, cable and satellite companies are unable to televise that game in the local broadcast market, leaving local fans in the dark.

While the blackout rule was originally cast as a way to encourage ticket sales, this rationale is no longer supported by the facts. The FCC is aware of this and voted unanimously last December to propose elimination of the rule, acknowledging that the record does not support the argument that blackouts increase ticket sales and that "the sports blackout rules have become obsolete."

The comment period for this change concluded long ago, and the well-developed record clearly supports erasing the blackout rule from the books. But we are still waiting on the commission to cast a final vote.

We wrote FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler in June, urging him to bring the rule to a final vote before the start of the new NFL season and he indicated the FCC will do so by "early fall."

That time has now come, another season is upon us, and there is no reason to further delay. This is not a partisan issue, as a clear majority of FCC members from both political parties supports striking the rule. In an increasingly divided government, it would be a breath of fresh air for Republican and Democratic FCC Commissioners to unite with football fans and vote to spike this outdated regulation.

It is not surprising that since the vote last December, the NFL has launched an expensive lobbying and public relations campaign aimed at ensuring the blackout rule stays on the books. Their efforts have obscured the facts, arguing erroneously that the sports blackout rule has worked since its inception nearly 40 years ago. Unfortunately for the league, facts are stubborn things. Research by sports economists indicates there is no link between the blackout rule and stadium attendance.

The league has even threatened to move games from free broadcast TV to pay services like cable if the FCC carries through with the vote. This last-minute pitch is all for the purpose of protecting the NFL's bottom line and preserving the status quo, which netted the league over $9 billion in revenues last year.

Further, the NFL enjoys nonprofit status -- meaning it pays no income tax -- and many games are played in stadiums financed in large part with taxpayer dollars. Federal regulations shouldn't favor multi-billion dollar sports leagues over consumers, especially when those leagues have benefited so greatly from those very same taxpayers and sports fans.

As the new season begins, we hope the FCC will do the right thing, and immediately vote to eliminate this outdated anti-consumer rule. At a time when Washington doesn't seem capable of achieving much, making sure fans aren't left in the dark this season could count as a real accomplishment, one deserving a cheer from the American people.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/06/opinion/mccain-blumenthal-end-nfl-blackouts/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

[Palehorse]

Here's an interesting opinion piece on this very thing.  I posted it on the NFL Speak thread, but I'lll post it here too since this very subject is being discussed.

(CNN) -- This weekend marks the kickoff of what millions of Americans have been looking forward to since the final minutes of Seattle's Super Bowl victory in early February -- another football season.

Players, primed and ready, will take to the field, inspired to make their mark on the new season. Loyal fans, football-starved from a long offseason, will tune in to cheer on their hometown teams. No one can avoid the nervous energy that defines the start of a new season.

But one thing fans should never have to worry about is whether or not this week's game will be impossible to watch due to a TV blackout.

It is unfortunate that we will kick off yet another football season with federal rules on the books that serve only to protect the leagues at the expense of sports fans.

One of these rules is the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) sports blackout rule, which prohibits a cable or satellite company from carrying a game that is blacked-out within the local broadcast area. While this affects leagues beyond the NFL, it occurs most often when, under the NFL's rules, a home game does not sell out at least 72 hours before kickoff.

Under the FCC's sports blackout rule, cable and satellite companies are unable to televise that game in the local broadcast market, leaving local fans in the dark.

While the blackout rule was originally cast as a way to encourage ticket sales, this rationale is no longer supported by the facts. The FCC is aware of this and voted unanimously last December to propose elimination of the rule, acknowledging that the record does not support the argument that blackouts increase ticket sales and that "the sports blackout rules have become obsolete."

The comment period for this change concluded long ago, and the well-developed record clearly supports erasing the blackout rule from the books. But we are still waiting on the commission to cast a final vote.

We wrote FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler in June, urging him to bring the rule to a final vote before the start of the new NFL season and he indicated the FCC will do so by "early fall."

That time has now come, another season is upon us, and there is no reason to further delay. This is not a partisan issue, as a clear majority of FCC members from both political parties supports striking the rule. In an increasingly divided government, it would be a breath of fresh air for Republican and Democratic FCC Commissioners to unite with football fans and vote to spike this outdated regulation.

It is not surprising that since the vote last December, the NFL has launched an expensive lobbying and public relations campaign aimed at ensuring the blackout rule stays on the books. Their efforts have obscured the facts, arguing erroneously that the sports blackout rule has worked since its inception nearly 40 years ago. Unfortunately for the league, facts are stubborn things. Research by sports economists indicates there is no link between the blackout rule and stadium attendance.

The league has even threatened to move games from free broadcast TV to pay services like cable if the FCC carries through with the vote. This last-minute pitch is all for the purpose of protecting the NFL's bottom line and preserving the status quo, which netted the league over $9 billion in revenues last year.

Further, the NFL enjoys nonprofit status -- meaning it pays no income tax -- and many games are played in stadiums financed in large part with taxpayer dollars. Federal regulations shouldn't favor multi-billion dollar sports leagues over consumers, especially when those leagues have benefited so greatly from those very same taxpayers and sports fans.

As the new season begins, we hope the FCC will do the right thing, and immediately vote to eliminate this outdated anti-consumer rule. At a time when Washington doesn't seem capable of achieving much, making sure fans aren't left in the dark this season could count as a real accomplishment, one deserving a cheer from the American people.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/06/opinion/mccain-blumenthal-end-nfl-blackouts/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Yeah I read that one too when I first discovered this. While I agree I have a high level of distrust in the author; this same jack wagon chose "Sarah " as his VP in the last election and so his motivation(s) are at best suspect.

[Palehorse]

Robert Mathis - done for the season.

[Palehorse]

WTF?  Maybe we should eliminate the influence big money has in the legislative process first?

I would whole heartedly support that!

[Henry Hawk]

Robert Mathis - done for the season.

That is a tough break for the Colts....

[Palehorse]

WTF?  Maybe we should eliminate the influence big money has in the legislative process first?

Which leads me to another suspicion; Since the article quoted by Locutus was co-authored by McUseless McCain, I wonder how much $$ the media put into his coffers and pockets to elicit such a view from him???