NFL & Tax Exemption Status

[zoogs]

Did you know that the NFL is classified as a tax exempt organization under 501©(6)?

 

Well, I didn't, and neither did I think most of us. Except for Mavric. That guy's sharp. The following is split from the Redskins discussion thread. Thought this would be a worthwhile topic. I'll leave a quick link to the two articles dug up for us.

 

Huffington Post: Why Does the National Football League Deserve Tax-Exempt Status?

Forbes: Flap About NFL Tax Exemption Seems Silly

[carlfense]

Wait... the NFL has tax exempt status???

Yep. I believe all the major sports do.

. . . why?

[Mavric]

Wait... the NFL has tax exempt status???

Yep. I believe all the major sports do.

. . . why?

$$$$$$$

 

But seriously, I don't know. Here's a couple articles I found on a quick google search:

 

Huffington Post: Why Does the National Football League Deserve Tax-Exempt Status?

Forbes: Flap About NFL Tax Exemption Seems Silly

[StPaulHusker]

Can't say I blame the NFL for keeping this smoke and mirrors show up for 50 years.

 

I guess it would have been nice for one of our members of congress to call them out sooner than now, though.

[BigRedBuster]

Can't say I blame the NFL for keeping this smoke and mirrors show up for 50 years.

 

I guess it would have been nice for one of our members of congress to call them out sooner than now, though.

 

 

Why would you call them out when nobody is complaining and those sky box seats are damn nice?

[carlfense]

If I read that correctly the NFL organization doesn't pay taxes but the individual NFL teams do. (But I didn't read it too carefully . . .)

[zoogs]

Sounds like the second article covers it best (the first seems rather mistaken on a few things, such as the NHL and NBA not being the same).

 

NFL teams, individually, are for-profit and pay taxes. The collective arrangement of the league is what falls under tax exempt status, and the league itself, while handling and facilitating a lot of big profits for individual companies, doesn't bring in that much in revenue. For example, the Huffington Post article leads with,

 

It may seem absurd that a collection of teams that generated at least $9 billion in revenue last season would be given tax-exempt status, but the NFL is technically classified as a 501©6 organization.

 

...but later breaks down a year (2009) when NFL finances were in the 'red'. In that year, NFL revenue was only $192.3 million. Expenditure was $234.6 million.

 

From the much more in-depth and informed Forbes article we learn that losses are par for the course in the NFL, although it isn't actually unsustainable. It also makes this interesting observation:

 

Turning the money losing exempt organization into a taxable entity does not look like it will cost anybody any additional taxes. Conceivably if they organized it as an LLC, they might save a few dollars.

 

In other words, in choosing to be 501©(6) instead of ... (I'm not sure what, here), the NFL has actually "increased their cumulative tax liability".

[sd'sker]

i tried to discuss the nfl's nonprofit status here. it links to a pretty fascinating article.

[zoogs]

Oooh, good one. I'll hijack your post:

 

apparently, the nfl is a non-profit organization.

 

How the NFL Fleeces Taxpayers

Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn't apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It's time to stop the public giveaways to America's richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams.

 

i always knew that taxpayers got a raw deal when funding stadiums, especially because the owners are perfectly capable of funding them. but this goes into much more depth of these issues.