By: Stacy M. Brown, Black Press USA

As the 2025 NFL season kicks off, a new report from Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) shows the massive divide between billionaire team owners and the fans who pack stadiums and stream games from home. The study estimates that the average NFL franchise owner pulls in about $600 million annually, or 7,000 times the average fan’s income of $85,000.

That divide will only grow under the Republican tax-and-spending plan enacted this summer. According to the Tax Policy Center, the wealthiest 0.1% of households, where every NFL owner resides, will enjoy average tax cuts exceeding $286,000 in 2026. Meanwhile, typical fans will see modest cuts erased by higher consumer costs driven by Donald Trump’s tariffs, leaving them about $700 poorer each year.

“Economic inequality and price gouging are as much on display in the new NFL season as peak athleticism, acrobatic catches, and explosive runs,” said David Kass, ATF’s executive director. “The fans who loyally support their favorite teams through good years and bad, putting up with steadily rising ticket prices, streaming costs, and concession-stand gouging, have little in common with the billionaires who own their franchises. It’s the owners who will benefit from Trump-GOP economic policies in the form of huge tax cuts for billionaires and economic elites like themselves, while fans will lose money from a combination of cuts to vital public services like Medicaid and SNAP and Trump’s chaotic tariff regime”.

Rising Costs for Fans

The ATF study shows the growing financial burden for fans. Average ticket prices across the league now sit at $125, with some teams charging more than double that. In Detroit, the average ticket runs $254, while in Las Vegas it’s $243. Even basic stadium staples cost more: beers top $12 in San Francisco, hot dogs go for $8.49 in Los Angeles, and tariffs on Canadian pork and Mexican beer add another $2.23 and $2.29, respectively, to game-day concessions. Beyond stadium walls, costs to follow the sport from home have soared. Fans must now subscribe to multiple streaming services to watch every game, a bill that can exceed $1,000 annually.

Billionaire Owners and Tax Breaks

Billionaires dominate NFL ownership. The mean average wealth of team owners is $10.6 billion. Rob Walton of the Denver Broncos, heir to the Walmart fortune, holds an estimated $77.4 billion in net worth. ATF noted that 29 owners collectively stand to gain tax breaks large enough to buy more than 66,000 game-day tickets. The financial gulf also extends to players, who earn an average of $860,000 annually with careers lasting only about three years. Income players make is taxed at up to 37%, while owners’ investment income faces only a 20% top rate. IRS records reviewed by ProPublica previously showed that some billionaire NFL owners paid effective tax rates in the low teens, or even single digits, despite billions in income.

A Different Model in Green Bay

Billionaire owners are not essential to a team’s success. The Green Bay Packers, the NFL’s only publicly owned franchise, are operated by more than 500,000 fan-shareholders. No individual can own more than 4% of shares, and ownership yields no dividends. Yet the Packers are among the most profitable and competitive teams in the league, valued at $6.3 billion and ranking 12th in revenue in 2024.

Policy Debate

Democratic leaders have offered proposals aimed at narrowing the divide. Former President Joe Biden called for taxing investment income at the same rates as wages, while Vermont Democratic Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed lowering the estate-tax exemption to ensure massive family fortunes contribute more. Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden also has pushed for an annual tax on billionaires’ unrealized gains. “The contrast between billionaire owners and working-class fans couldn’t be clearer,” Kass stated. “The tax code should work for everyone, not just the wealthiest few.”