Leaders allegedly revisited NFL team ticket revenue

The House Oversight Committee has received information alleging that the Washington captains kept ticket proceeds that were supposed to be shared with other NFL teams, sources told Front Office Sports.

According to NFL internal regulations, all teams are required to pass 40% of ticket sales from every home game — excluding ticket handling fees and taxes — to the league, which then distributes the money to visiting teams. At least one person has provided information in recent weeks to congressional investigators claiming that commanders did not pass the full 40%, two sources familiar with the investigation told FOS.

It is not clear how long this alleged scheme lasted or who authorized it.

One source said the leaders and the NFL have learned about the allegations in recent weeks.

An NFL spokesperson declined to comment when contacted by FOS. The leaders did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FOS mentioned On Thursday, the House Oversight Committee expanded its investigation beyond allegations that the leaders fostered a hostile business environment to include scrutiny of the finances of team and owner Dan Snyder.

Sources told FOS that the person who provided the information to the Democratic-led oversight committee is the person referred to in the following statement by GOP Oversight Committee spokesman Austin Hacker:

“The leaking of one-sided, unconfirmed and uncorroborated allegations from a disgruntled ex-employee with an ax to grind is just further evidence that the Democrats’ investigation is a waste of Congress’ time. The committee has heard nothing from any credible witness to suggest financial impropriety; in fact, The only credible witness who can know the facts the Democrats have heard has denied such wrongdoing.”

Sources familiar with the information provided to the employees of the Oversight Committee to the FOS said that this information exceeded the testimony of the first person.

Ticket sales are the only portion of domestic revenue that must be shared between NFL owners. Teams don’t share other revenue — from parking to local sponsorship deals — with other teams.

Ticket sales affect not only other teams but players as ticket revenue is factored into the league’s total revenue which is used to come up with a salary cap each year.

The maximum salary for the 2022 season is $208.2 million, an increase of $25.7 million. The cap dropped for the first time last season since it was implemented in 1994, in large part due to the pandemic that limited fan attendance during the 2020 season.

The Green Bay Packers, the only publicly owned team in the NFL, took part $77 million In ticket sales in 2019, the most recent data available for a season unaffected by the pandemic.

The leaders reported the second lowest attendance last season.

“My understanding is that early ticket sales are going very well in Washington,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters at the owners’ meetings on Tuesday. “They are making a lot of progress. We are very optimistic about entering the season.”