04/24/24
October 27, 2013
NFL's Non-Profit Status Questioned: At NFL headquarters on Park Avenue in Manhattan, the daily business is funded by all 32 pro teams which collectively pay more than $250 million in annual "membership dues." All of that revenue received by the league office, more than a half billion dollars since 2010, is not taxed because the league has been a non-profit trade association since the 1940s. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) filed a bill in September to revoke the tax exemption, asserting that working folks are subsidizing a special break for a sports league. More than 280,000 have signed a Change.ore petition asking Congress to remove the NFL's non-profit status. "This doesn't pass the basic fairness test," said the petition's author, Lynda Woolard, a fan of the New Orleans Saints.
It's easy to run a non-profit. In the case of the NFL, all they have to do is burn money in salaries for the league officials (not the on-field variety), return money to the teams (read owners), spend a lot on various charities, and at the end of the year, make sure you have nothing left over. Money for the health and safety of players and former players? That would mean the league couldn't pay their executives as much. That can't be a good idea.
Actually, if when I hit Powerball, I plan to set up a non-profit, put my son in charge at an exorbitant salary, put myself and my wife in as consultants, at an even more exorbitant retainer, solicit money for "worthy" causes, making sure that my friends are involved, and become a well-loved and respected member of the community.
posted by Howard_T at 04:11 PM on October 27, 2013
When I hit Powerball, I'm going to snort coke off the backside of strippers.
posted by rcade at 04:43 PM on October 27, 2013
I think rcade and I would get along famously.
Was that article posted here from a few weeks' back that documents all the scams the NFL pulls, from the non profit status to the unnecessary subsidies for stadiums and sweetheart deals?
posted by hincandenza at 06:00 PM on October 27, 2013
When I hit the Powerball, I'm going to pay rcade and hincandenza to be strippers, and let other people snort coke off them.
posted by grum@work at 07:06 PM on October 27, 2013
Eh, I could use the work.
posted by hincandenza at 07:16 PM on October 27, 2013
All of you don't know that one of the charities I will support with my non-profit is a training academy for unemployed strippers at which they can improve their job skills. There will be an emphasis on the best anatomical arrangements for coke snorting. Of course, it will need extensive hands-on supervision from yours truly.
posted by Howard_T at 09:22 PM on October 27, 2013
And when I hit the Powerball, I will buy the strip club so Howard can train and supervise.
Seriously, though ... a yearly multi-billion-dollar monopoly (since there are no other pro football leagues in America) that continues a massive tax break from the days before television, when radio broadcasts were few, merchandise sales were virtually non-existent. This, also, at a time when club owners were looking to survive, as players went off to war AND in the few years after the war as clubs were trying to re-establish stability. No club today can cry poverty.
I understand the NFL's argument that the teams are the ones who pay taxes; however; corporations pay taxes on revenues, the money they pay suppliers are taxed against the supplier, the money they pay their employees are taxed against the employee. I think the NFL could clearly be described as a corporation.
posted by jjzucal at 12:11 AM on October 28, 2013
Was that article posted here from a few weeks' back that documents all the scams the NFL pulls
Here you go. It's an excerpt from Gregggg Easterbrook's new book.
posted by yerfatma at 10:24 AM on October 28, 2013
Howard_T, how about a few good looking guys for us lady spofites? I would be more than happy to relocate so I could have the job of trainer. ;) At a rather large salary of course.
All kidding aside, I think they should take some of that money and help finance new stadiums. I don't think people who never go to the games should have to pay for one.
posted by steelergirl at 10:30 AM on October 28, 2013
how about a few good looking guys for us lady spofites?
Steelergirl, as soon as I set it up, I will put you in charge of recruiting and training -- at a large salary of course.
My original comment about the use of non-profits was intended to be somewhat critical of the way in which such things can be misused as nothing more than tax shelters and money-laundering agencies. The part about my dream non-profit was added as a tongue-in-cheek afterthought. Still, there are some good ideas here about what to do with one.
posted by Howard_T at 04:57 PM on October 28, 2013
Yes it does amaze me what they get away with. I am very picky about any donations I make.
Could you throw in a company car?
posted by steelergirl at 09:15 AM on October 29, 2013
Could you throw in a company car?
Done, but I'll do what my former employer did. It will be limited to the usual Hertz/Avis/Enterprise mid-size rental. Get that Lamborghini out of your head, girl.
posted by Howard_T at 05:11 PM on October 29, 2013
Howard, you can upgrade her to a low mileage Crown Vic or Merc Marquis with a law enforcement base package at no extra charge through mid November.
Who wouldn't want a taste of that Kojak lifestyle?
posted by beaverboard at 09:26 PM on October 29, 2013
I'll sign that thing. Or, maybe the league would like to return some of the non-profit it's earned to the municipalities and counties whose taxpayers have funded stadium projects.