Trump and the NFL - why it's complicated

Trump and the NFL - why it's complicatedImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell joined Donald Trump in the Oval Office in MayByBen CollinsBBC Sport journalist in San FranciscoPublished28 August 2025Updated 5 hours agoAmerican football fans never thought they would see the day - the head of the National Football League standing shoulder to shoulder with Donald Trump in the Oval Office.Trump has frequently traded blows with the NFL since he first became US president in 2017, but he and America's most popular sports league have been sparring partners for more than 40 years.Trump's 'feud' with the NFL has involved him testifying against the league and failing, on multiple occasions, to buy a team. It may even have propelled him to the presidency.When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell joined Trump in May to announce the NFL Draft would be coming to Washington DC for the first time, it seemed Trump had finally made friends with arguably his oldest foe.Well, maybe not. With this season set to conclude with Super Bowl 60 on Sunday, BBC Sport examines Trump's long and complicated relationship with the NFL and why it could be set for another twist.Lawsuit fails to force league mergerImage source, APImage caption, Herschel Walker racked up a record 2,411 rushing yards for the Generals in 1985 and is now the US ambassador to the Bahamas after being nominated by TrumpAlready a real-estate magnate by that point, Trump viewed owning an American football team as a means of building his brand. After attempting to acquire an NFL franchise, a 37-year-old Trump bought the New Jersey Generals in September 1983.They were founding members of the USFL, which started in the spring of 1983 so did not clash with the NFL. The new league managed to lure top players from the NFL and the college game.The Generals improved during their two seasons under Trump but lost in the first round of the play-offs in both 1984 and 1985.However, Trump had made his intentions clear from the outset. He didn't want the USFL to remain a spring league; he wanted to go directly against the NFL in autumn-winter.That was not the USFL's original plan but, in August 1984, Trump convinced team owners to vote on switching to an autumn-winter schedule from 1986.Then, two months, later the USFL filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL - led by Trump. The case went to trial in May 1986, with the USFL arguing the NFL had conspired to monopolise TV contracts, seeking damages worth $1.7bn (£1.25bn).Trump hoped it would force a league merger and earn him an NFL franchise. He also envisaged a Trump-branded stadium in Manhattan.The trial lasted 42 days and a jury found the NFL was an 'illegal monopoly'. But it rejected the other charges and the USFL was awarded just $3 as the jury felt most of the USFL's problems were self-inflicted.The league had built up huge debt and, days after the verdict, it folded.In a book about the USFL,, external one of the jurors said Trump "came off as arrogant and unlikeable" in court.Trump and then NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle provided contrasting accounts of a meeting they had in March 1984, during which Rozelle is alleged to have told Trump, external "as long as I or any of my heirs are involved in the NFL, you will never be a franchise owner in the league".Did failed Bills bid lead to presidential run?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Trump's lawyer Christopher Kise (right) argued his bid to buy the Buffalo Bills was not relevant to his fraud trial as the deal was not completedTrump had already attempted to buy the Baltimore Colts, before the NFL franchise relocated to Indianapolis in 1984.He then turned down the chance to buy the Dallas Cowboys for $50m in 1984 and bought the Generals instead for $9m. "I feel sorry for the poor guy who is going to buy the Dallas Cowboys," he told the New York Times.Jerry Jones became the Cowboys' owner in 1989. 'America's Team' won three Super Bowls in the '90s and are now the world's most valuable sports team at $10.1bn (£7.5bn)., externalAfter the USFL's demise, Trump pulled out of discussions in 1988 to buy the New England Patriots, who have won six Super Bowls under current owner Robert Kraft.Trump focused on other enterprises, becoming a reality TV star on The Apprentice, until the Buffalo Bills were put up for sale in 2014.Trump claims he bid $1bn in cash but Terry Pegula, who already owned the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, ultimately bought the Bills for $1.4bn.That bidding process was mentioned during the fraud trial that ruled against Trump - who had denied all accusations - in 2024, before his $500m (£372m) penalty was overturned last week. His former lawyer Michael Cohen used it as an example of how he would inflate Trump's assets, in that case claiming a net worth of $8bn in a bid to secure a loan to buy the Bills.Documents also showed Trump declined to provide financial statements to the Bills' bankers - one of whom testified that, instead, Trump "gave us handouts of the Forbes list of the top-paid entertainers".ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith has repeatedly claimed that before Pegula's takeover was approved by NFL team owners in October 2014, he received a call from Trump in which he said: "If they screw me over, I am going to show them. I'm going to get them all back. I'm going to run for president."Eight months later, Trump announced he was doing just that. He later said: "If I bought that team, I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing.''Media caption, Trump attacked dissenting NFL players at a rally in AlabamaIt was during Trump's first presidential run that NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began taking the knee during America's national anthem, to protest against racial injustice and police brutality in the US.Many NFL players followed suit and Trump was a vocal critic, before and after he was elected in November 2016.During a rally in September 2017, Trump urged fans to boycott games and NFL team owners to sack any players who did not stand for the anthem. He also called for the league to change its rules, regarding both the protests and the game itself.The following day NFL commissioner Goodell issued a statement, in which he said: "Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL."Patriots owner Kraft told BBC Sport that Trump's comments on the anthem protests were "inflammatory and inappropriate". In a meeting between players and owners in October 2017,, external Kraft added: "We have a president who will use that as fodder to do his mission, that I don't feel is in the best interests of America".After a team owners' meeting in the same month, the Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan told USA Today, external that Trump was "trying to soil a league or a brand that he's jealous of".Khan added: "He's been elected president, where maybe a great goal he had in life to own an NFL team is not very likely, so to make it tougher, or to hurt the league, it's very calculated."Trump said he "would love" to see Kaepernick return to the NFL as it continued to struggle with the anthem issue.In May 2018, the NFL introduced a new policy giving players the option to stand or stay in the locker room but, in the wake of George Floyd's death, Goodell admitted the NFL was wrong and encouraged players to peacefully protest.Smith has said Trump "hijacked the narrative" over Kaepernick "for his own benefit", while his ESPN colleague Adam Schefter said Trump was "waging his own little vendetta against the NFL".Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Patriots were the first Super Bowl winners after Trump's first inauguration, with owner Robert Kraft (right) among those to visit the White House in April 2017The tradition of championship teams visiting the White House started long before Trump took office, but now there is far greater attention on who is invited and whether they will attend.Half of the Patriots team did not travel in 2017, including quarterback Tom Brady, with five of those players citing political objections to Trump.The following year he revoked an invitation to the Philadelphia Eagles the day before the planned visit, after most of the team said they would not attend.The Patriots were asked to return in 2019, but both parties were unable to schedule a date, while the Covid pandemic ruled out any chance of the Kansas City Chiefs visiting in 2020.Three weeks after Trump's second inauguration in January he watched the Eagles beat the Chiefs, and this time they did visit the White House in April.Less than half the team attended, quarterback Jalen Hurts among those not present, although a White House official said he and the other absentees had "scheduling conflicts".Trump has also invited the Chiefs as they "missed their turn" in 2020, even though one of the few remaining players is Travis Kelce, who is engaged to Taylor Swift.Trump said he "hated" Swift after she endorsed his rival presidential candidate Kamala Harris in 2024, and celebrated the singer being booed at last year's Super Bowl.But Trump congratulated them on their engagement in August and said Swift is a "terrific person" so perhaps Kelce would visit, if the Chiefs can fix a date.Could Trump create more NFL history?Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Josh Harris (left) and Goodell (centre) joined Trump in the Oval Office, with Harris presenting him with a ball that read "in recognition of" Trump "bringing the NFL Draft to the nation's capital" After becoming the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl last February, Trump looked to have achieved a complete turnaround with the NFL when Goodell and the Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris joined him at the White House to announce the US capital would host the 2027 draft.The news came a week after the Commanders reached an agreement to build a $4bn (£3bn) domed stadium in Washington DC, which Goodell acknowledged would "dramatically" boost the district's chances of hosting a Super Bowl.The local council approved the deal in August, so Trump could become the first president to bring the nation's biggest sporting event to its capital city.But Trump said he may block those plans if the "Washington 'Whatevers''" do not "change the name back". The team won three Super Bowls while known by a name which is considered offensive to Native Americans and was dropped in 2020.Some say you should never mix sport with politics, but Trump continues to embrace it more than any of his predecessors.Last July, he reintroduced the presidential fitness test to American schools and announced a sports council including high-profile figures such as Goodell and several NFL players, although Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa "didn't know too much about it" and Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley said he had declined his invitation.But the league appears to have irked Trump yet again by choosing Puerto Rican pop star Bad Bunny to perform the Super Bowl half-time show in Santa Clara on Sunday and American band Green Day to play the opening ceremony.Both acts have been critical of Trump and his administration's immigration crackdown. The president responded by saying "I'm anti-them. I think it's a terrible choice", but insists the reason he is not attending Sunday's game in Santa Clara, California, is because it is "just too far away".While Trump feels that choosing those performers will only "sow hatred", commissioner Goodell believes it will "unite people". If Bad Bunny uses the huge platform the NFL has given him to make another statement against Trump, it's fair to assume he'll be planing how to strike the league back.This story was first published on 28 August 2025.Published18 hours ago