NFL owners have mostly kept their checkbooks pointed in one direction this cycle, but Arthur Blank just made himself a clear outlier.
The Atlanta Falcons owner gave $3,500 to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s reelection campaign, according to a new report.
Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist, is widely viewed as a possible 2028 presidential contender. Blank has also put $300,000 toward Democrats’ effort to win back the Senate.
Front Office Sports, which reviewed Federal Election Commission records, reported that NFL owners have spent more than $18 million on midterm candidates and committees, and “nearly all of it has gone to Republicans.”
That spending has included some massive checks from the league’s biggest names. Broncos co-owner Rob Walton has given nearly $9 million to Republican candidates and committees, while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones contributed $1 million to Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc.
Blank’s donation to Ocasio-Cortez stands out because very few owners have moved heavily toward Democrats in this election cycle. Front Office Sports called it “an extreme rarity for an NFL owner.”
A spokesperson for Blank confirmed the donations but declined to comment further.
Blank’s political giving wasn’t limited to Democrats, either. He also donated $3,500 to former NFL kicker Jay Feely, who spent four of his 14 NFL seasons in Atlanta and is now running as a Republican for a House seat in Arizona.
Only one other owner has given large sums to Democrats this cycle: new Seattle Seahawks owner Vinod Khosla, who donated $2 million to the Democrats’ Senate arm.
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