Patriots One of 17 Teams to Not Take Money to Honor Soldiers

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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocal Worcester Contributor

Over the past four seasons, the Department of Defense (DoD) has paid 14 NFL teams $5.4 million to honor soldiers and veterans with patriotic displays at their home games. The New England Patriots were one of the 17 teams to not accept payment from the DoD to promote military service.

United States Senator Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) was the first to bring this issue to light when he lambasted the New York Jets and the New Jersey Army National Guard for wasting $377,500 of taxpayers money on promoting and advertising soldiers under the guise of genuine honorable moments in between quarters and at half-time of Jets home games.

However, the team that collected the most money from the National Guard to take part in supporting America's soldiers was the Atlanta Falcons who received just over $1 million for their efforts.

Here is a list of the other NFL Teams, according to NJ.com, who received money from DoD: