The NFL generates a lot of money. In fact, the league had $23 billion in revenue last year.
Some of that money was donated to political causes and candidates by the league and owners of teams.
According to a report published Wednesday by OpenSecrets, a campaign finance organization, 58% of federal campaign contributions made by the NFL political action committee and employees of the league went to Democrats last year.
While NFL employees donated to Democrats, a majority of the contributions made to Democrats were made by the PAC, which was created to donate and lobby on behalf of the entire league, and is funded by teams, owners and team executives.
Some of the biggest recipients were the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which were organizations working ahead of the 2024 election to win back the majority in the House and maintain the majority in the Senate — but they ended up losing both chambers.
The NFL’s Gridiron PAC began in 2010 and has kept a relatively even split among Democratic and Republican candidates in the recent election cycles. Still, it was the fourth consecutive election cycle in which the NFL donated more to the Democratic Party than the Republican Party, OpenSecrets noted.
That doesn’t mean Republican candidates were not favored at all. In actuality, the NFL’s biggest single donor gave his funds mainly to Republicans.
Rob Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, owns half of the Denver Broncos. During the 2024 election cycle, Walton donated $17.6 million, more than triple the next biggest donor among NFL owners, the report said.
He also helped elect Utah’s newest senator, John Curtis. Walton gave $1 million to Conservative Values for Utah, which is a super PAC that supports Curtis.
The next biggest donor among NFL owners is Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, who spent $4.9 million in the 2024 election cycle. Tepper is followed by New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Cleveland Browns owners Dee and Jimmy Haslam, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Eddward Glazer, Minnesota Vikings Zygi Wilif and Walton’s other co-owner of the Denver Broncos, his son-in-law, Greg Penner.