Free Republic

Ahead of the start of its 106th season, the National Football League saw an astonishing 710 percent increase in value over the past two decades, with teams worth $190 billion. The owners, many of whom have been involved with their teams for decades, are turning to new ways to capitalize on the exponential gains seen in the league — and to look out for their own interests The NFL generated $23 billion in revenue in 2024, nearing Commissioner Roger Goodell’s goal of $25 billion by 2027. This goal, set in 2010 when NFL revenue just crossed $8 billion, has been...

Good Bunny, Bad Bunny; Danica Patrick wants no bunny at the Super Bowl halftime show. While commenting on another account’s post about the Puerto Rican rapper, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Patrick criticized the idea of having him perform on stage in Santa Clara, Calif., for the pinnacle of television in America. “Oh fun,” the former race car driver said on X. “No songs in English should not be allowed at one of America’s highest rated television events of the year … not just for sports.”

U.S. — The National Football League is apparently working double time to win back its conservative fanbase by planning a Super Bowl halftime show with a Spanish-speaking man in a dress. Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny has officially signed with the NFL to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show in what experts are calling a desperate bid to attract conservative viewership. "Conservatives are going to love this," NFL Chairman Roger Goodell said. "They're always talking about the brave Latinx people and gender roles." Bad Bunny, who champions a new masculinity with his floral dresses, short shorts,...

The National Football League was once synonymous with patriotism. For decades, its broadcasts featured tributes to the military, roaring jets flying over stadiums, and the Star-Spangled Banner uniting fans of every background. That league is gone. In its place stands a cultural institution that has chosen ideology over unity, grievance over gratitude, and division over patriotism. The NFL now consistently aligns itself with movements and figures that are hostile to America, its heritage, and its values. It is not exaggeration but fact to say that the NFL has become one of the most powerful platforms for advancing anti-American narratives. The...

You knew the NFL was gay, but THIS gay? Meet Bad Bunny… He’s performing at the Super Bowl. Woke, Anti-Ice, weirdo. The No Fans League at it again. Meet Bad Bunny… He’s performing at the Super Bowl. Woke, Anti-Ice, weirdo. The No Fans League at it again. Bad Bunny's hit songs include titles like "Yo Perreo Sola" ("I Twerk Alone"), in which he dons a dress and prothetic breasts. LGBT outlet Pink News loved it when they reported on it in 2020. He's been called a "queer icon" who likes to crossdress and makes out with his male backup dancers...

If we see Taylor Swift at Super Bowl LX, it won't be onstage. She'll be in a suite, drink in hand, like she usually is. According to multiple reports, the world’s biggest pop star has walked away from an offer to headline the NFL’s biggest game after negotiations with the league broke down. She had some requests, and the NFL reportedly refused to budge. "She wasn’t asking for favors, she was asking for respect," one anonymous music executive told British pop culture journalist Rob Shuter, who first broke the story on his "Naughty But Nice" Substack. "Taylor knows her worth....

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles fans everywhere lost their minds when Jordan Davis blocked the Rams’ game-winning field goal and ran it back for a touchdown, securing a wild Week 3 win. But no one reacted quite like Merrill Reese. Reese, the Eagles’ legendary play-by-play radio broadcaster on 94.1 WIP, was in pure shock as he called the game’s decisive play next to commentator Mike Quick. Davis’ block, his second of the day, denied Rams kicker Joshua Karty a game-winning, 44-yard field goal against the Eagles on Sunday in south Philadelphia. Davis, the 336-pound defensive tackle, then picked the ball up and...

The Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens did not pay tribute to Charlie Kirk before their NFL games on Sunday following his assassination in Utah this week. The New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys all halted proceedings before their respective kickoffs to remember the life of the 31-year-old MAGA star. Daily Mail has contacted the Lions, Bengals and Ravens to ask why they did not honor Kirk. There are still six NFL games to be played this weekend.

The Carolina Panthers have fired a member of their communications department due to an “insensitive social media post” following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday morning that Charlie Rock, a football communications coordinator, had been let go in the wake of the post, citing a source. “The views expressed by our employees are their own and do not represent those of the Carolina Panthers. We do not condone violence of any kind. We are taking this matter very seriously and have accordingly addressed it with the individual,” the Panthers said in...

Jalen Carter’s first game of the Eagles’ new season was over before the first defensive snap. With Philadelphia trainers addressing an injury after the opening kickoff, Carter, the star defensive lineman, walked up to Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and appeared to spit on his chest. Carter received an unsportsmanlike penalty and was ejected just six seconds into the game, with Eagles chief security officer Dom “Big Dom” DiSandro escorting him off the field as the NBC broadcast reacted in shock at how the first game of the NFL season began.

The NFL opens the 2025 season Thursday, when the Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC), and with it comes an assortment of rule changes and points of emphasis that will undoubtedly enter the public discussion through the next five months. The league has tweaked its kickoff, hoping to generate a much higher return rate. Its competition committee has worked to make overtime fairer, employed technology to support its on-field officials and warned players that it will be vigilant in disciplining them for violations of the league's sportsmanship rules. And after months of debate, the league decided...

The Koch family reportedly has agreed to purchase a 10% stake in the New York Giants. The deal, which was first reported by Bloomberg, is pending approval by league owners, which could come as soon as their next meeting in October. It would come at a valuation of $10 billion, which would surpass the then-North American professional record of $6.05 billion that Josh Harris' group paid to buy the Washington Commanders from former owner Dan Snyder in 2023.

For the sixth consecutive season, the NFL will require teams to choose from a list of pre-approved social justice messages, such as “End Racism” and “Stop Hate,” to stencil in their end zones. The league said the initiative coincides with other campaigns the NFL is involved with, including Salute to Service and Crucial Catch. Each team can select which phrase it would like displayed on the opposite end zone. Other options include “Choose Love” or “Inspire Change,” though all international games will feature the end zone messages “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us.” “For decades, the NFL and...

Clay Higgins, a Republican congressman, criticised the use of male cheerleaders, saying: “I don’t think the NFL actually wants conservatives to watch their football games. And I must say if that’s the NFL business model, they’re doing very, very well.”

A Super Bowl not being played on American soil has never felt more likely with the NFL's international expansion of regular season games, with London making a strong case through British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson. London's Wembley Stadium has hosted regular-season NFL games for a decade, with it always being mentioned for the loftiest of the league's expansion goals for an actual franchise. While Mexico City, Toronto, and Munich would also love to be in the race to host arguably the biggest annual game on the world's sporting calendar, Mandelson's case gives England's capital city a possible...

The NFL is continuing its on-field social justice messaging for a sixth straight season. All 32 teams will feature an end zone message of their choice at each home game throughout the season, selecting from four options: “End Racism,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love,” or “Inspire Change.” Once again, “It Takes All of Us” will be stenciled in the opposite end zone for all games. The only change from 2024 is that “Inspire Change” replaces “Vote.” These messages will complement the league’s other cause campaigns such as Salute to Service and Crucial Catch, which will also appear in end zones during...

Guys, I've got great news ... football is (sort of) back. And with the return of NFL ball we've already got the kick of the year. And all time, for that matter. Yes, that was a SEVENTY yard field goal. He kicked it from his own 40 yard line through the uprights. However... Yes, preseason football is not real football. So the miraculous kick doesn't count, unfortunately. Little is in his second year in the league after being drafted out of Arkansas in the 6th round (insanely high for a kicker) and being the youngest kicker ever selected in the...

Wine ‘em, dine ‘em. Get their votes. (‘Em.) On Monday night, Commanders leadership held a dinner for the members of the D.C. Council to discuss the stadium deal on which the Council eventually vote. Via WUSA9, roughly six members of D.C. Council attended the dinner at Milano’s, an “upscale” spot in Georgetown. (There was a quaint time in American history when activities like this would include a discussion as to whether any ethics rules had or hadn’t been violated.) The team needs seven to say “yes.” Currently, they have four. Per the report, a small group of protestors gathered outside,...

The performer who raised a dual Sudanese-Palestinian flag during Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl halftime show says he has no regrets about the stunt, which exposed a massive security failure for a major event attended by the US president. Zül-Qarnain Nantambu confirmed that he unfurled the banner, emblazoned with the words 'Sudan' and 'Gaza,' in New Orleans on Sunday evening as a message of solidarity to the victims of those conflicts. Nantambu stood on a car used as a prop for Lamar's show and held up the flag, before running around the field and then being wrestled by security staff and...

In 2023, Bud Light had one of the worst years of its existence as it faced a massive boycott and lost its spot as the top-selling beer brand in America. The controversy surrounding Bud Light erupted in April of that year after the beer brand featured Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender social media influencer, in a social media campaign that promoted a $15,000 giveaway