NFL Moves To Revoke Its Nonprofit Status

By Gary Snyder

The National Football League’s central office will become a taxable entity, ending its tax-exempt status in a move with minimal financial effect and significant symbolic value. 

The league’s decision pre-empts a move to revoke the tax break that had been led by former Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. For the NFL, the costs of losing the tax break are minimal, an estimated $109 million over the next decade. 

There are benefits for the league, too, including the end of federal disclosure requirements that put Commissioner Roger Goodell’s salary and some other league information in the public domain. 

The NFL’s move mirrors one made by Major League Baseball in 2007. The National Basketball Association never was tax exempt. The National Hockey League is now the only major professional sports league in North America with the status.



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