Andrew Delaney: NFL Tax Exemption 'Just Doesn't Seem Right'

A lawyer who wrote an influential article criticizing the NFL's tax-exempt status says the league's domestic violence problem is not a legal basis for reform, but could fuel momentum for congressional efforts to revoke the exemption.

And then again, it might not, lawyer Andrew Delaney told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner on Newsmax TV Monday, saying, "It's been tried before."

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"There's been a movement each year since I wrote the article . . . and it just doesn't happen," Delaney said of past efforts to take away the tax-exempt status of professional football's governing body — which is under fire for its handling of domestic abuse cases involving players.

The law article, "Taking a Sack: The NFL and its Undeserved Tax-Exempt Status," has been cited by members of Congress, including Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, calling for repeal of the exemption.

Delaney said that a for-profit NFL front office would not be dramatically different in its day-to-day operations: "They would still have corporate tax writeoffs."

But taking away the exemption, which dates to the 1940s, could be considered an act of fairness, according to Delaney.

"I think the thing that causes the anger [toward the NFL] is that it just doesn't seem right," he said.

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