Charles Gasparino: Super Bowling for Cash With the NFL’s Club of Billionaires

In the midst of the comedic wokeness Dueling national anthems, virtue-signaling TV commercials and rappers touching their private parts during halftime festivities, it’s easy to forget the ­Super Bowl and the NFL are a really big business, run by some of the most powerful businessmen (yes, they are mostly men) in America.

Spending money for the Super Bowl last week It was estimated that it brought in $15 billionThe annual league revenues have surpassed $20 billion. The a href=”> will continue to increase league profits.https://nypost.com/2023/02/09/the-insane-math-on-what-a-super-bowl-2023-trip-costs/”>popularity These are sometimes very brutal and often lucrative sport.

But it is hard to cover the NFL’s billionaire club. Roger Goodell, the NFL’s image-obsessed commissioner is responsible for filtering their thirst for power and money through carefully planned events and announcements. 

It is mostly propaganda, though. However, once you crack the code you will quickly see that Goodell’s obsession is with wakingness. Kumbaya about ­racial issues etc. This is a hard-to-pierce smokescreen.

Although it is not impossible. Through events such as the annual owners’ meeting, I have often been able to get a glimpse into this secretive world. “Inner Circle Tailgate Party.” It takes place once a calendar year, just before the Super Bowl. It is hidden from the general public, as it takes place in a private area located just a few steps from the stadium.

There’s good food there, lots of drinking and amazing gossip ­behind velvet ropes and the phalanx of private security guarding billionaire owners, investment bankers, some celebrities and more than a few politicians. You can see the privilege and power of the country’s cultural, political and ruling business elites if you are able to get a ticket.

Full disclosure: Although I was not able to attend the fete in Glendale (Ariz.), some of my sources were there and reported back on the activities of the NFL’s cool kids club. While Americans were betting on the winner of this big game, the honchos were obsessed with two things in particular, according to me: presidential politics, and the future. Next owner of the Washington Commanders.

Tailgate parties are a bipartisan event, meaning you’ll see both Dems and GOP politicians at the party. The owners themselves lean heavily Republican and they’re not afraid to throw money at candidates for national office, including the highly unwoke Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.

The owners are shifting their tunes this year. They’re not focusing on Trump, but the party. According to the tailgate, some of the largest GOP donors in the league are among them. Do not want Trump to be anywhere near the top of your ticketCiting his cringeworthy baggage, such as the Jan.6 riot, he said: 

It is one of the reasons why Tim Scott (the GOP senator from South Carolina) chose to do so. Rising star in the partyDuring the Super Bowl celebrations, he was welcomed by his owners with open arms. He was often accompanied at times by Kevin McCarthy, GOP House speaker. According to my contacts Scott was preparing to sell tickets to attendees to raise money to support his bid for the GOP nomination, which he will face against a field that includes Donald Trump. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley a person who is considered to be the owner’s favorite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Reply to calls from McCarthy and Scott for comment were not returned by McCarthy and Scott).

The NFL overlords are against Trump running because they don’t believe he can beat Sleepy Joseph Biden. They are also concerned that Trump won’t be beaten to the nomination, with so many anti-Trump GOP candidates.

This team is for sale!

The thought of four more years of the increasingly feeble White House occupant, who has moved further to the left than even Barack Obama, was almost enough to ruin the festivities. Because the other major topic was a potential, huge, payday.

It is no secret that Dan Snyder, Commanders owner, is under immense pressure from the league To sell the team After being accused of creating a toxic environment at work. The league has asked him to sell the Commanders before the March owners meeting. The asking price for this storied franchise, formerly known as Washington Redskins, will be approximately $6 billion. League rules require that principal owners put down at least 30% equity.

Here’s why Snyder and Biden were the focus of owners’ excitement: Because teams are valued differently, the more Snyder receives for the Commanders, it will increase the value of other franchises. He bought the team in 1999 for a then-record $800 million, so at $6 billion you can see how the numbers start adding up across the league.

This bank is not available to many people. The owners were referring mainly to Josh Harris of Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment. He was a former top exec at Apollo and now owns several sporting franchises, including Philadelphia 76ers. The other is Jeff Bezos is the Amazon celebrityThe team is also being viewed by,

Harris is a billionaire. Whether he’s enough of a billionaire to make the numbers work is ­unclear. (He didn’t return a request for comment. Bezos on the other hand is worth about $120 billion. Most of this liquid is in Amazon stock and some of it in liquid. He’ll meet Snyder’s or the league’s expectations and be even more richer.

There’s nothing like four more years of Sleepy Joe when you have a few billions more to increase your net worth.