As questions continue to be raised about why taxpayer dollars were spent on military displays at sporting events, the NFL has promised a thorough review of all instances in which teams contracted with the military for promotional purposes.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a letter to Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, who have led the way in chastising the Department of Defense for the taxpayer-funded “paid patriotism” events, in which he said that the league is “conducting an audit of all contracts between our clubs and the military service branches or state National Guard units.”
“If we find that inappropriate payments were made, they will be refunded in full,” Goodell told the senators. “We will share the results of this review with you.”
Contrary to some reports, the NFL has not promised that it will refund money to the Department of Defense. All the NFL has promised to do so far is to review the circumstances surrounding military displays at NFL games. The NFL isn’t conceding that it accepted any money improperly, but the league has said it will re-pay any money that is found to have been spent improperly.
The report issued by McCain and Flake found that millions of dollars were spent on “paid patriotism” events at NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS games.
