US Defense Department paid 14 NFL teams $5.4M to honor soldiers

And the greed of the NFL has no bounds. Shame on you arthur!

I'm so glad we are not on this list. Good job Yorks.

Apparantly this was covered up and unclovered by a senator from Arizona.

And this goes beyond the NFL. Other leagues are involved also.

Shady corporate greed.

http://mweb.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25181085/nfl-teams-received-54-million-from-defense-department-in-last-4-years

I just saw Keith Olberman rip them apart on his ESPN show.

Techincally, we've spend 100s of millions of dollars on advertising. And these NFL teams aren't the only ones to join in on the money train. MLB/Nascar/NBA/NHL and the list goes on...all of them do it. And of course it's all tax payers money...

Not to say one side is better than the other, but the DoD has probably blown more money for less results.

Originally posted by zonkers:

Not to say one side is better than the other, but the DoD has probably blown more money for less results.

The secrecy about it is the shady part.

Don't pretend like they actually are doing this is as a tribute. Just announce that it is sponsered.

Originally posted by Young2Rice:

Originally posted by zonkers:
Not to say one side is better than the other, but the DoD has probably blown more money for less results.

The secrecy about it is the shady part.

Don't pretend like they actually are doing this is as a tribute. Just announce that it is sponsered.

Yup. Though, is this surprising? I think most people knew that these events aren't actually held for said "tributes" but more as a marketing ploy.

That's why I also mentioned, that most of this is tax payers money, while these sports teams still get payed without even dishing out a single penny.

Pretty much goes like this.

Government : We'll pay you millions of dollars to advertise our former / current soldiers, and those millions are payed by tax payer money. Sounds good?

Sports Corporation: Okay.

DoD is a huge warfighting team...and yes, they've made their mistakes along the way. But, to compare them with the NFL is apples & oranges. They're a non-profit making organization...the NFL's all about the "cha-ching". I have some idea what I'm talking about WRT DoD...I'm a veteran of almost 23 1/2 years on active duty AF and another 21 + years as a civil servant. The shape, composition and missions of the DoD are a direct result of Congressional action. Basically, the DoD does what Congress tells them to do. How they do it is uniquely managed by the DoD. I have ultimate respect for our warfighters, having been one myself. I think it's a travesty the NFL charges DoD to honor its veterans. This type of greed will be the ruination of the NFL, at some point. That's my humble opinion.

Originally posted by CorvaNinerFan:
DoD is a huge warfighting team...and yes, they've made their mistakes along the way. But, to compare them with the NFL is apples & oranges. They're a non-profit making organization...the NFL's all about the "cha-ching". I have some idea what I'm talking about WRT DoD...I'm a veteran of almost 23 1/2 years on active duty AF and another 21 + years as a civil servant. The shape, composition and missions of the DoD are a direct result of Congressional action. Basically, the DoD does what Congress tells them to do. How they do it is uniquely managed by the DoD. I have ultimate respect for our warfighters, having been one myself. I think it's a travesty the NFL charges DoD to honor its veterans. This type of greed will be the ruination of the NFL, at some point. That's my humble opinion.

lol the DOD is not a non profit. let's get real. the DOD and its connection with the M-I-C is all about "cha-ching"

Originally posted by TheHYDE49er:
Pretty much goes like this.

Government : We'll pay you millions of dollars to advertise our former / current soldiers, and those millions are payed by tax payer money. Sounds good?

Sports Corporation: Okay.

NATIONALISM.

Not sure what is worse, the DOD being dumb enough to pay for it or the teams taking the money and doing something they should ALL do for free anyway.

Originally posted by BadgerHawk:
Not sure what is worse, the DOD being dumb enough to pay for it or the teams taking the money and doing something they should ALL do for free anyway.

The basis for determining right and wrong in this country has, all to often, come down to self interest and greed and the belief it's ok unless you get caught. There should be a congressional investigation on this. DOD is giving our tax dollars to the NFL and other sports organizations to hype the military. This is propaganda. Sick....How will you feel the next time you see the military jets flying over before the game and everyone standing reverently when you know the money that's been changing hands under table? Shameful!

Originally posted by barrymartin:
The basis for determining right and wrong in this country has, all to often, come down to self interest and greed and the belief it's ok unless you get caught. There should be a congressional investigation on this. DOD is giving our tax dollars to the NFL and other sports organizations to hype the military. This is propaganda. Sick....How will you feel the next time you see the military jets flying over before the game and everyone standing reverently when you know the money that's been changing hands under table? Shameful!

You realize that this doesn't apply to every single team or occurrence right. I do think it says more about the teams that charged for various tributes, pawning it off like a community relations, community service kind of deal than anything else.

That the DoD spends money on recruiting and marketing isn't any sort of new revelation, the reason why this is in the news is because you had teams acting like they were doing something as a simple tribute and not a paid action. They were honoring veterans for their service, people who legitimately deserved it, and then cashing in on the back end. I think that is pretty bogus and shameful.

"Those of us go to sporting events and see them honoring the heroes," U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said. "You get a good feeling in your heart. Then to find out they're doing it because they're compensated for it, it leaves you underwhelmed. It seems a little unseemly. . . .

"They realize the public believes they're doing it as a public service or a sense of patriotism," Flake said. "It leaves a bad taste in your mouth."

The deals include segments saluting "Hometown Heroes," and other advertising and marketing.

The teams that put on these events come off looking pretty shady and less than genuine as a result. No shame in their game at all.

The Jets weren't the only team accepting tax dollars in exchange for access to football, as the Falcons, Ravens, Bills, Bengals, Browns, Cowboys, Packers, Colts, Chiefs, Dolphins, Vikings, Steelers and Rams have also accepted the money.

My first thought when opening this thread was "I hope the Niners aren't one of those teams."

I don't know, maybe I m missing something but whats the big deal? The NFL and our military are separate entities, they have no connection. Most the player s never served, neither have most of the owners .I'm more concerned with the gov't using my tax dollars to brainwash people.

Originally posted by T-9ers:

I don't know, maybe I m missing something but whats the big deal? The NFL and our military are separate entities, they have no connection. Most the player s never served, neither have most of the owners .I'm more concerned with the gov't using my tax dollars to brainwash people.

Come on man. The only reason you're allowed to come and post stupid s**t on the Internet is because of those people.