$23 million reaches Donald Trump’s campaign as majority NFL owners donate 7 times more than 2020 elections
Woody Johnson and the majority of NFL owners support Donald Trump, whereas Arthur Blank leads the few in Kamala Harris' corner.
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Donald Trump receives massive donations from NFL team owners such as Woody Johnson and Jerry Jones (Image via Imago/X)
As the countdown to the 2024 U.S. Presidential election begins, campaign support is becoming clearer, with attention turning to major donors like NFL owners Jerry Jones, Woody Johnson, and others, who are known for their political contributions to either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
To understand which owners’ side with which candidate, USA Today Sports conducted their own research. As they went through the Federal Election Commission filings, they came across some interesting figures. Prime among which was the near $23 million Donald Trump‘s campaign received from the majority of the NFL owners.
New Denver Broncos co-owner Rob Walton donated a major part of that amount. He gave $16.5 million to the Republican Presidential campaign fund. But along with him were the likes of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Tepper particularly did not donate to Trump, rather his $2.9 million went to Republican primary candidate Nikki Haley, who was beaten out by the former President. But even then, with the likes of Jerry Jones and others joining in, NFL owners donated twelve times to Republican efforts compared to funds received by Democrats.
WILD: #NFL owners have donated over 23 million dollars to Republican causes including Donald Trump’s campaign this year alone.
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 31, 2024
83% of political contributions from league owners have gone to Republicans, per USA Today. pic.twitter.com/O0rl4rbTyr
Fans have long recognized that most of them lean right. What stunned USA Today Sports was that the donations were seven times what they gave during the 2020 election campaign. At the time, Donald Trump was also the Republican candidate but lost out.
With such an evident tilt towards the GOP, Kamala Harris and her Democratic campaign had to rely on other donations to fund her efforts. Among the owners, there was only one who openly supported the current Vice-President.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank waves the Kamala Harris flag
Among the list of donators giving away millions, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank was the lone star. He donated $3.3 million, which was the second-highest amount of any donation. All of that went to the Kamala Harris‘ campaign. He did not even hesitate to voice his support at the Business Leaders for Harris advocacy group.
Kamala Harris is the right leader at a critical time in our country who can bring people together and help business and communities thrive.
Arthur Blank said on Kamala Harris
A few owners, such as Arthur Rooney II of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the York brothers of the San Francisco 49ers, and Sheila Ford Hamp of the Detroit Lions joined Blank. They are often Democrats, so their support does not come as a surprise. Add in Taylor Swift‘s open support, and the NFL fan base will have a decision to make come November 5th.
A few owners decided to help out Non-partisan PACs and Independent candidates. But there were also some notable absentees, such as Raiders owner Mark Davis, Saints owner Gayle Benson and Stan Kroenke of the Rams. With the rising billions in earnings, these owners have clearly shown which side they are leaning towards, or not.
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Joseph Varghese
(2486 Articles Published)