Trump’s "Big Beautiful Bill" Almost Hit the NFL—But Fans Would’ve Paid the Price

If you pay absolutely no attention to politics, you probably still heard of the “Big Beautiful Bill”—the most recent spending bill passed by the Trump administration. As reported by Pro Football Talk last week, an earlier version of the bill included a major tax hit for large corporations and sports franchise owners. Specifically, it would have cut the write-off for intangible assets from 100% down to 50%.

For NFL owners (all of whom are billionaires), intangible assets include player contracts, media rights, licensing agreements, goodwill, naming rights—basically everything except those outrageously priced stadium concessions. (Probably explains why Miller Lite costs $20 in the stadium.)

On one hand, it’s easy to root for closing this tax loophole. I pay taxes on all my assets—so why do billionaires get to write off player contracts and TV deals?

But here’s the cold reality: NFL owners don’t eat costs. They pass them on. And they’re very good at protecting their bottom line.

If the 50% cap had remained in the bill, the league would have found a way to make up the difference.
Maybe the salary cap tightens, triggering more player holdouts.
Maybe NFL Sunday Ticket costs jump even higher—or games shift to yet another streaming service.
Maybe that $20 beer becomes a $30 beer.

Bottom line: NFL owners were never going to pay for President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” We were.

Personally, I’m glad the intangible asset write-offs stayed untouched. I already spend way too much just to watch the same games that used to be free through an antenna.