Football broadcasts are getting flooded with political ads, and a taxpayer-funded spot has critics from both parties asking whether the NFL should step in
Several political ads have ran during NFL broadcasts
Several political ads have ran during NFL broadcasts(Image: AP)
View 2 Images
Football fans tuned in for the games this fall. What many got instead was a steady stream of campaign messaging, and the backlash is growing.
With the midterm elections weeks away, political ads have flooded NFL and college football broadcasts. The most controversial came from President Donald Trump and was paid for by the U.S. government. The black-and-white spot shows Trump walking down a hallway while a voiceover says, "We will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists." It ends with a chyron reading "Paid for by the U.S. Government."
The ad aired during Fox's college football coverage and during NFL games, including the Rams-Eagles broadcast. It was the third in a series of government-funded Trump ads, and AdImpact reported it has cost taxpayers more than $362,000 so far. It comes as Trump was caught in a bald-faced lie after claiming to beat NFL ratings.
READ MORE: Coco Gauff suddenly withdraws from tournament after cheating scandal and 'racist' abuse
READ MORE: Jerry Jones showed where his priorities are after Cowboys star's wife went into labor
The White House has defended the spots, calling them public service announcements that "are very clearly not campaign ads."
The administration said they are meant to remind Americans "to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending."
Critics from both parties disagree. CNN's Jake Tapper wrote, "Standards once eroded seldom are restored so hope everyone is cool with this from now on." Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he doesn't think any public official should spend public money on private ads for themselves.
GOP Rep. Thomas Massie said such ads have been done before and are "completely legal… in banana republics." Carol Evans of Common Cause told CNN, "I don't think you have to be a legal scholar and wonder why the president has to use taxpayer funds to promote his image" close to an election.
A second problem hit viewers far from Texas. A super PAC affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Texas PAC, ran multiple pro-Ken Paxton ads during Fox's 1 p.m. ET window on Sunday.
Because Fox split the country among four games, the spots reached viewers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and beyond.
A Donald Trump ad aired on FOX Sports during Sunday's Week 4 NFL slate
A Donald Trump ad aired on FOX Sports during Sunday's Week 4 NFL slate(Image: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
View 2 Images
Jerry Bodine of KARE 11 explained why. He said, "There are 20 TV markets in the state of Texas. You have to buy 20 different markets, so the cumulative cost of trying to reach the whole state for them probably ended up being more expensive than just buying the network."
According to Medium Buying, one 30-second spot in Texas' four biggest markets during Cowboys-Texans costs more than $2 million.
Fans and analysts have had enough. CBS Sports' Todd Fuhrman wrote, "If we could do away with any and all political ads during college football Saturdays and NFL Sundays that would be outstanding. I don't care get them off my TV."
Former PFF analyst Sam Monson said he would "pay a depressing sum of money to be able to opt out of political ads."