ShareThisTo borrow a metaphor from baseball, when it comes to political campaign contributions, the National Football League covers all its bases.
While it may be favoring the majority Democrats slightly now, NFL campaign money has historically greatly favored the GOP.
A study last fall by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracked contributions dating back to 1989, revealed that combined contributions from players, owners and officials from 22 of the 32 NFL teams have favored Republicans over Democrats, and that several teams have earmarked more than 90 percent of their cash to the GOP. Donations from those affiliated with the other 10 NFL teams favored the Democrats.
The San Diego Chargers were the most generous to the GOP, with owner Alex Spanos contributing nearly $2 million, virtually all to Republicans, and the Chargers' total contribution list tapping out at $2,455,200 over that span. The St. Louis Rams were kindest to Democrats, contributing $230,050, some 98 percent of their total contributions.
In addition to teams and owners, several star players joined in the political giving. Indianapolis Colts quarterback-NFL MVP Peyton Manning contributed $2,300 to the GOP presidential bid of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson in 2007 and $2,000 to George W. Bush's 2004 re-election fund. On the other side, Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez was among President Barack Obama's NFL donors in 2008, cutting a $4,600 check.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
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