Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., wants to strip the National Football League of its nonprofit status because of the way the league has been handling domestic abuse cases involving its players.
Booker’s legislation would prevent the NFL from operating as it currently does, as a nonprofit trade group. The $100 million in extra tax collections over the next ten years would go toward domestic violence prevention programs.
Even devoted football fans might be surprised to learn the NFL is a tax-exempt organization. Each of the NFL’s clubs pay taxes, but the league office does not. The exemption for the league is granted under 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code and applies to “business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards, boards of trade, and professional football leagues (whether or not administering a pension fund for football players).”
This means the NFL has the same status as the American Bar Association or the National Association of Manufacturers.
Other sports leagues would also lose their tax-exempt status under Booker’s legislation, including the National Hockey League, Professional Golf Association and U.S. Tennis Association.
“This legislation will help ensure that victims of domestic violence have the resources they need to break away from abusers and begin rebuilding their lives,” Booker said in a statement.
Domestic violence has become a scandal for the NFL in recent weeks, following the release of a video showing former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée Janay Palmer in the face in an Atlantic City casino elevator back in February. Even though earlier footage showed the NFL star dragging Palmer from the elevator, this new video was far more damning. The NFL has come under heavy criticism because of news reports that it had a copy of this video, yet still initially punished Rice with only a two-game suspension.
The NFL suddenly appears to be taking domestic violence more seriously. On Thursday, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was suspended indefinitely for beating his 11-year-old son.
Booker isn’t the only senator who has introduced legislation to remove the NFL’s tax exempt status. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., introduced a bill on Tuesday intended to punish the NFL this way for — of course — failing to force the Washington Redskins’ owner to change the name of his franchise.
