The truth of what the NFL does to americans.

tatehill2000 · Oct 24, 2013

so I started thinking why is it that there was standing room only at this years football game in england?< so I looked up the prices,,

http://www.nfluk.com/tickets-events/nfl-wembley

the tickets are a THIRD of the price,,,(75-85%!!! LESS than what we pay now) and they DONT charge for parking,,

I then went to see the prices of soccer matches for chelsea, and manchester,, the 2 BIGGEST names in soccer,,, and they were 59 for adults,,, and 29 for seniors(55) and children,,,

Guys,,, it just PISSES me FKNG off every time I hear assholeson the radio complain that attendance is LOW,,, where are t he fans,,, blah blah blah,,, ATL has bad fans,,, AZ has bad fans,,, JAX has bad fans,,,

Maybe its because the nfl gouges its american fans,,,

this should probably been made into a POLL,,, How many people would go see a NFL game if they could pay 59.00 a ticket across the board?

lol,,, pathetic,,
tater

Willie99 · Oct 24, 2013

prices are crazy, especially in the northeast

I like good seats, and there's no way I could be a season ticket holder for the Pats (especially if my wife wants to tag along like she does for uconn hoops)

I'll pay what I consider to be top dollar to go to one or two games a year

in all seriousness, the cheapest game for me to see the Pats play in when they play the Jets in NJ

tatehill2000 · Oct 24, 2013

I sit on the 3rd CLUB level in a side endzone area here at cardinals stadium (I split with 4 guys) and those tickets are FRIGGING 125 a piece!!!

I can only afford to see 2 games a year,,, 4 tix per game,,,

its a Joke to think the NFL is blabbing like the euros LOVE the sport and are demanding it to come there,,, cause the minute they start raising prices up is the second that sport will be boycotted lol,,, the euros arent like americans,,,, were used to getting kicked in the teeth,,, and lied to, and hidden fee'd to death.. the Euros will riot and kill people lol,,,
anyway,,, I hate liars,,,

and I am proud to say whenever I can watch a game on the computer for free I feel Prideful,,
cheers
tater

Joedogs · Oct 24, 2013

And correct me If I'm wrong....... But I believe the NFL pays close to nil in taxes.

jensinc · Oct 24, 2013

The NFL Is A Tax-Exempt Organization — But One Senator Wants To Change That

BY TRAVIS WALDRON

ON APRIL 25, 2013 AT 5:12 PM

Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn (R) today introduced an amendment to the Marketplace Fairness Act that would end the practice of allowing professional sports leagues to qualify as tax-exempt organizations, a move that would hit leagues like the National Football League, the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour, and the National Hockey League, among others.

Since 1966, the tax code has allowed leagues to classify as 501(c)(6) charitable organizations — a classification used by trade and industry organizations — under the assumption that the leagues were promoting the general value of their sports. But Coburn’s amendment asserts that the leagues are not non-profits engaged in the promotion of their sports but instead are businesses interested solely in the promotion of their business; that is, the NFL isn’t so much concerned about promoting the general sport of football as it is concerned with promoting NFL football, because it is the NFL brand and the NFL teams and logos and products that make it a profitable business. The NFL, for instance, didn’t seem interested in promoting the general spread of football when a competitor league, the United States Football League, was formed in 1983. Likewise, the PGA Tour, NHL, and other sports leagues serve to promote their brand of their sports, not the sport as a whole.

Further, the leagues hardly pay their executives as if they are non-profits. The NFL paid $51.5 million to just eight executives in 2010, according to Coburn, and other leagues are similar — PGA commissioner Tim Finchem made $5.2 million that year, while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman took home $4.3 million.

In his 2012 Waste Book that chronicled government waste, Coburn said that taxpayers were losing as much as $91 million a year subsidizing professional sports leagues because of their non-profit status:

The National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) classify themselves as non-profit organizations to exempt themselves from federal income taxes on earnings. Smaller sports leagues, such as the National Lacrosse League, are also using the tax status. Taxpayers may be losing at least $91 million subsidizing these tax loopholes for professional sports leagues that generate billions of dollars annually in profits.Taxpayers should not be asked to subsidize sports organizations already benefiting widely from willing fans and turning a profit, while claiming to be non-profit organizations.

The 501(c)(6) provision, specifically amended in 1966 to add “professional football leagues,” states that “[n]o part of a business league’s net earnings may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual and it may not be organized for profit to engage in an activity ordinarily carried on for profit.” That would seem a hard standard for most professional leagues to meet, given the amount of revenue they make and the benefits they provide to the people involved. Individual team owners, in fact, benefit substantially from the league’s structure and even its classification as a non-profit organization.

NFL teams pay membership dues totaling roughly $6 million per team, but they are allowed to write those off for tax purposes as donations to a charitable organization. As Andrew Delaney explained in the Vermont Law Review in 2010, the NFL, which collected $192 million in revenue largely through membership dues in 2009, then pours much of that money back into a stadium fund that allows owners to access interest-free loans as long as they secure taxpayer financing for either new stadiums or improvements to existing facilities. The NFL’s dues, then, go almost solely toward the enrichment of its franchise owners even as they are exempt from federal taxation (and often from state and local taxation as well). Taxpayers get hit on two fronts: not only do they lose out on federal tax revenues, they also end up footing the bill for new stadiums and stadium improvements (most recently in Atlanta and Minnesota, with ongoing efforts in Miami and other cities). But all of the benefit, much of which comes from the tax-exempt status, goes to owners and the NFL, as Delaney explained:

Technically, the city owns the stadium. Personal seat licenses or PSLs are sold through a public agency, tax-free. Profits are then used to pay down the owner’s share of the NFL loan. The money from the PSLs never goes directly to the teams, though the teams save millions of dollars in taxes and the loan from the NFL is paid down significantly, providing a very significant benefit to the owners.

Removing the tax-exempt status would force the leagues to acknowledge the reality that they are businesses, and they would be taxed as such. For the NFL, that would mean that membership dues and assessments would no longer be tax exempt, according to Delaney, and the profits run through the NFL’s or PGA’s tax-exempt organizations no longer would be either (the NFL runs multiple for-profit organizations, such as NFL Films, in addition to its non-profit partner). Instead, the leagues would be taxed much like corporations, and a wide range of tax write-offs would be available just as they are to other corporations. They would still be able to operate the charitable organizations they already have as tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charities.

It’s unclear how much of a benefit ending the tax-exempt status of professional sports leagues would bring directly to taxpayers, largely because the complexity of how the leagues have structured their businesses makes it hard to know how much they benefit directly from being tax-exempt (Major League Baseball claims that giving up its tax-exempt status in 2007 had no effect on its annual taxes, but there’s no way to know for sure). And it’s unlikely we will find out soon, since Coburn’s amendment isn’t likely to receive a vote when the Senate finally takes up the Marketplace Fairness Act sometime this week.

That’s a shame though, because a vote and legitimate debate about Coburn’s amendment would benefit the public, which often doesn’t get the full picturefrom sports leagues, owners, and lawmakers about how much of their money goes to subsidizing the sports we watch. Taxpayers in the past have been outraged when they find out how much subsidies for new stadiums are going to ultimately cost them, but by then, it’s almost always too late. And while the leagues we subsidize — either directly or indirectly — are popular among fans, whether those same fans are willing to shell out their tax dollars to help wealthy owners and franchises become even wealthier is impossible to know, since we almost never receive robust and honest debate about those subsidies. Coburn’s amendment is a chance to at least throw that into the national conversation about tax reform — and it’s a chance lawmakers shouldn’t be so hesitant to take.

SmallDaddy · Oct 24, 2013

I aint buying anything NFL related, except the Game rewind. Not because I cant afford it, but because the prices are rip offs

rolltide · Oct 24, 2013

tatehill2000 said:
so I started thinking why is it that there was standing room only at this years football game in england?< so I looked up the prices,,

http://www.nfluk.com/tickets-events/nfl-wembley

the tickets are a THIRD of the price,,,(75-85%!!! LESS than what we pay now) and they DONT charge for parking,,

I then went to see the prices of soccer matches for chelsea, and manchester,, the 2 BIGGEST names in soccer,,, and they were 59 for adults,,, and 29 for seniors(55) and children,,,

Guys,,, it just PISSES me FKNG off every time I hear assholeson the radio complain that attendance is LOW,,, where are t he fans,,, blah blah blah,,, ATL has bad fans,,, AZ has bad fans,,, JAX has bad fans,,,

Maybe its because the nfl gouges its american fans,,,

this should probably been made into a POLL,,, How many people would go see a NFL game if they could pay 59.00 a ticket across the board?

lol,,, pathetic,,
tater

nfl doesn't gouge their fans at all, imho. there's 8 games/year...that's it. a season ticket holder for Manchester United, for example, has to buy 19 regular season games (avg $1300 season ticket), a handful of more highly priced champions league games, plus all home games for the league cup and fa cup

now NHL assfucks all fans. not only are the prices absolutely insane (nice seats lower middle in pitt is $160/seat) but there's 41 regular season games + up to a dozen playoff games to pay for plus preseason at full ticket price. toss in parking and you're well over 10k to sit in a nice seat at Consol for a full season

loomis41973 · Oct 24, 2013

Those prices are in pounds.

tatehill2000 · Oct 24, 2013

Pounds shmounds... the priceing is relative. The euros working a normal acciunting job is making the same fee as americans relatively speaking

loomis41973 · Oct 24, 2013

tatehill2000 said:
Pounds shmounds... the priceing is relative. The euros working a normal acciunting job is making the same fee as americans relatively speaking

Not really...They also have MUCH higher income taxes and the VAT tax which is another 20%

EVincent · Oct 24, 2013

People here pay it.
many who have season tix dont have a pot to piss in either
but charge up those season tix every year

G.MONEY · Oct 24, 2013

Not justifing it at all but you have 8 regular season home games and 2 preseason, thats not alot for sure.....I have season tickets for Chicago Bulls and every year the prices go up, I could drop them when it finally gets to be to much, but they have a waiting list og over 4k names......

thekeyman · Oct 24, 2013

i won't even go on stub hub or other ticket exchanges cause people charge 3 times the amount the ticket is worth.people are greedy anymore,if i don't get tickets right from the ticket office of the team then i don't go.its crazy anymore how much people rip each other off just to gain a few bucks

loomis41973 · Oct 24, 2013

thekeyman said:
i won't even go on stub hub or other ticket exchanges cause people charge 3 times the amount the ticket is worth.people are greedy anymore,if i don't get tickets right from the ticket office of the team then i don't go.its crazy anymore how much people rip each other off just to gain a few bucks

I have bought tickets for under face many times on StubHub and others.

Bought some Purdue tickets for a friend at $2.00 each. Colts for $40 and Cubs for $9 each. Thats just a few of many.

thekeyman · Oct 24, 2013

loomis41973 said:
I have bought tickets for under face many times on StubHub and others.

Bought some Purdue tickets for a friend at $2.00 each. Colts for $40 and Cubs for $9 each. Thats just a few of many.

loomis is that recently or a while ago? purdue tickets sounds about right,lol....just kidding

loomis41973 · Oct 24, 2013

All within the past few months

loomis41973 · Oct 24, 2013

Seen some Purdue - Illinois for 25 freaking cents. Who bothers to list at that price?

ParlaysStoleMyMoney · Oct 24, 2013

loomis41973 said:
Seen some Purdue - Illinois for 25 freaking cents. Who bothers to list at that price?

LMFAO. This reminds me of when I was growing up I always helped my grandma with her bi-yearly garage sale. She would have stuff marked for .15 cents just to get rid of it and it never failed some moron would come up and say something like "would ya take a nickel for it". Usually my grandma would just give it away because she only had them to get rid of stuff, and usually she gave my sister and I all the money if we worked hard to help.

thekeyman · Oct 24, 2013

im looking for north carolina-syracuse tickets for jan 11th i syracuse for basketball.if any alumni around that have connections please let me know if you can help me.all they have on the syracuse site is nose bleed seats and with my condition i cannot sit up that high

CHOPTALK · Oct 24, 2013

Its not the NFL teams as much as it is the secondary market.
A Saints ticket on Stub Hub cost an average of 5x face value.

Someone I know sold the rights to buy season tickets in the endzone. Not the tickets, just the rights to buy them for 11.5K before the season started.

And the Saints dont even do PSL's.

This was just to have the right to buy endzone tickets at face value because if you dont already have them you cant buy Saints season tickets directly because the entire dome is sold out with season ticket holders and there is an 80K thousand waiting list.

The truth of what the NFL does to americans.

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