When I found out that the National Football League (NFL) -- the most profitable sports league in the world -- is a nonprofit, I couldn’t believe it! Despite making more than $10 billion a year, the league is considered a tax-exempt non-profit trade organization, which means it does not pay many federal and New York state taxes.

Though there have been efforts in Congress to address the NFL's nonprofit status, proposed legislation has been stuck for a couple years. But now there's another way to keep pressure on the NFL.

Two New York State legislators, State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, have proposed legislation to change New York State’s tax laws, so that sports leagues like the NFL would lose their "nonprofit" tax-exempt privileges. We need to take action right now to make sure their legislation passes.

This is a concrete solution to generate tax income for all of us, while closing a loophole that benefits only a super-rich league. 

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell makes more than $44 million a year, which is much more than many nonprofits make in a year in New York. The NFL also spends big bucks annually on government lobbyists to make sure that it isn’t taxed like the business that it is. Regular people like you and me MUST make our voices heard to counteract that influence.

Our elected officials should keep our best interests at heart, not the NFL’s lobbyists’. Other sports leagues, like the National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball, have already given up their nonprofit status, and it’s time for the NFL to follow suit. This NY legislation is our best chance to make that happen, which is why it’s so important that we show policymakers that we care about this issue right now.