By Robert Schlesinger, Thomas Jefferson Street blog
Rush Limbaugh's bid to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams has raised some concerns about such a high-profile and outspoken conservative joining the league. As Peter noted earlier, the head of the NFL Players' Association is trying to galvanize his members in opposition to El Rushbo. But judging by the way NFL owners, executives, and players give money already, the conservative yakker would fit right in in the league. The indispensable Center for Responsive Politics crunched the campaign finance contribution data for the league and found that in terms of political contributions, "NFL" could well stand for "Not For Liberals."
The center combed through contributions to federal candidates and political committees from 1989 through 2009, and tallied all contributions from NFL team owners, executives, players, coaches, and so forth (the teams themselves are of course legally forbidden from making contributions). According to the center's figures, NFLers contributed $6.9 million during that 20-year span, of which 78 percent ($5.45 million) went to Republicans and 21 percent to Democrats ($1.48 million).
A couple of things jump out from the team-by-team breakdown: The San Diego Chargers are the biggest political players, kicking $2.45 million to political coffers (98 percent of it to the GOP). No surprise there: Owner Alex Spanos is a longtime GOP funder. And while the teams trend Republican, the NFL home office sent 70 percent of its $322,373 in contributions to Democrats.
And which team was the biggest contributor to Democrats? Why, the St. Louis Rams, whose employees and officials sent $230,050 to Democrats and only $4,750 to Republicans. No wonder Rush wants to buy the team.
You can see the full team-by-team breakdown here:
| Team | Total | Democrats | Republicans | Dem % | Repub % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego Chargers |
$2,455,200
|
$40,773
|
$2,414,427
|
2%
|
98%
|
| Houston Texans |
$623,456
|
$4,000
|
$615,256
|
1%
|
99%
|
| Arizona Cardinals |
$337,096
|
$85,950
|
$251,146
|
25%
|
75%
|
| Washington Redskins |
$323,000
|
$8,550
|
$314,450
|
3%
|
97%
|
| National Football League |
$322,373
|
$224,798
|
$97,075
|
70%
|
30%
|
| New York Jets |
$261,403
|
$26,011
|
$235,392
|
10%
|
90%
|
| New Orleans Saints |
$257,913
|
$18,150
|
$239,763
|
7%
|
93%
|
| St Louis Rams |
$234,800
|
$230,050
|
$4,750
|
98%
|
2%
|
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
$229,307
|
$128,892
|
$100,415
|
56%
|
44%
|
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
$201,066
|
$36,564
|
$164,502
|
18%
|
82%
|
| Philadelphia Eagles |
$183,500
|
$156,400
|
$27,100
|
85%
|
15%
|
| Dallas Cowboys |
$164,467
|
$29,600
|
$134,867
|
18%
|
82%
|
| Minnesota Vikings |
$131,175
|
$14,600
|
$116,575
|
11%
|
89%
|
| Kansas City Chiefs |
$130,300
|
$20,950
|
$109,350
|
16%
|
84%
|
| Cincinnati Bengals |
$126,200
|
$1,750
|
$124,450
|
1%
|
99%
|
| Cleveland Browns |
$125,526
|
$41,126
|
$84,400
|
33%
|
67%
|
| New England Patriots |
$122,400
|
$88,200
|
$24,200
|
72%
|
20%
|
| Indianapolis Colts |
$117,150
|
$56,150
|
$61,000
|
48%
|
52%
|
| San Francisco 49ers |
$111,121
|
$93,015
|
$18,106
|
84%
|
16%
|
| Denver Broncos |
$110,413
|
$36,850
|
$73,563
|
33%
|
67%
|
| Miami Dolphins |
$108,001
|
$92,000
|
$15,751
|
85%
|
15%
|
| Baltimore Ravens |
$92,471
|
$34,871
|
$57,600
|
38%
|
62%
|
| Carolina Panthers |
$89,018
|
$34,500
|
$54,518
|
39%
|
61%
|
| Atlanta Falcons |
$77,350
|
$25,950
|
$51,400
|
34%
|
66%
|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
$71,883
|
$34,600
|
$36,583
|
48%
|
51%
|
| Los Angeles Rams |
$52,250
|
$47,250
|
$5,000
|
90%
|
10%
|
| United Football League |
$41,100
|
$41,100
|
$0
|
100%
|
0%
|
| Buffalo Bills |
$38,506
|
$25,006
|
$13,500
|
65%
|
35%
|
| Tennessee Titans |
$36,050
|
$4,450
|
$31,600
|
12%
|
88%
|
| Detroit Lions |
$32,751
|
$20,750
|
$12,001
|
63%
|
37%
|
| New York Giants |
$31,000
|
$8,700
|
$22,300
|
28%
|
72%
|
| Chicago Bears |
$28,100
|
$13,050
|
$15,050
|
46%
|
54%
|
| Seattle Seahawks |
$24,402
|
$13,000
|
$11,402
|
53%
|
47%
|
| Green Bay Packers |
$8,750
|
$2,550
|
$6,200
|
29%
|
71%
|
| Oakland Raiders |
$6,800
|
$4,050
|
$2,750
|
60%
|
40%
|
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
$6,400
|
$2,650
|
$3,750
|
41%
|
59%
|
| NFL Network |
$6,000
|
$1,900
|
$4,100
|
32%
|
68%
|
| NFL Properties |
$3,000
|
$3,000
|
$0
|
100%
|
0%
|
| Arena Football League |
$3,000
|
$1,000
|
$2,000
|
33%
|
67%
|
| Pro Arena Football |
$2,300
|
$2,300
|
$0
|
100%
|
0%
|
| Los Angeles Raiders |
$2,000
|
$2,000
|
$0
|
100%
|
0%
|
| Detroit Super Bowl XL Host Cmte |
$250
|
$250
|
$0
|
100%
|
0%
|
(Chart courtesy of The Center for Responsive Politics)
I added the individual team figures up myself to get the league totals. Exit question: Does your team's contribution pattern match your ideology? And do you really care?
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Reader Comments Read all comments (10)
Wayne of UT 4:46PM February 24, 2010
James of NV 4:49PM October 29, 2009
Mike of MA 8:54PM October 15, 2009