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November 14, 2013 9:00 AM

Author Gregg Easterbrook on fixing the NFL's greed, safety problems

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'The King of Sports' by Gregg Easterbrook — Book cover courtesy of publisher

While football is America's favorite sport and a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, the game has some deep-seated problems that writer Gregg Easterbrook wants to see addressed. From head injuries and the physical toll of the game to the graduation rates of college players, Easterbrook's new book, "The King of Sports," looks at how the game he loves can be fixed.

The flow of money into the National Football League is another source of trouble, Easterbrook says. In a piece for The Atlantic, he reports that "70 percent of the capital cost of NFL stadiums has been provided by taxpayers, not NFL owners" and that much of the continuing costs for electricity, sewer and improvements are also paid by the city, county or state where the stadium is located. Only three NFL teams have paid at least 75 percent of the stadium capital costs and 12 teams have actually made a profit on just the subsidies:

Until public attitudes change, those at the top of the pro-football pyramid will keep getting away with whatever they can. This is troubling not just because ordinary people are taxed so a small number of NFL owners and officers can live as modern feudal lords and ladies. It is troubling because athletics are supposed to set an example — and the example being set by the NFL is one of selfishness.
Football is the king of sports. Should the favorite sport of the greatest nation really be one whose economic structure is based on inequality and greed?

Easterbrook joins The Daily Circuit to talk about his research.

READ: An excerpt from "The King of Sports"

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'The King of Sports' by Gregg Easterbrook — Book cover courtesy of publisher

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