There is undoubtedly a sizeable amount of hatred and scrutiny of the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell. October, Breast Cancer Awareness (BCA) Month, is the one time of year that may actually make you believe in the organization.

This month is dedicated around the world to raising money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. It’s a time to wear anything pink and, for the NFL, put pink ribbons on the pigskin, but it’s also a time to face the facts, the ones the NFL does not want the fans to know.

During October, the NFL states that 100 percent of the proceeds gained from the selling of pink items goes directly to the American Cancer Society (ACS). However, this is simply not true.

According to Vice Sports, an investigative sports journalism website, the only money that is donated is the royalty on the purchased item. So when you buy a pair of cleats for $100, it doesn’t mean ACS is getting $100. With this, an average of $1.1 million dollars per year has been raised selling pink items since 2008.

This may seem like a large sum of money, but compared to the nearly $10 billion in revenue made last year according to forbes.com, it’s nothing. In fact, it’s just above 0.0001 percent of the profits made last year.

Also, the money raised is absurdly low when comparing it the the commissioner’s salary. In 2013, Goodell’s salary was reported to be just above $44 million according to Business Insider. Now comparing this to the BCA Month promotion, ACS receives an amount equal to about 0.025 percent of Goodell’s average salary.

Goodell can now hide his yearly salary because the NFL finally gave up its tax-exempt status this year. His salary has grown steadily over the years, quadrupling from when Goodell was named commissioner back in 2006. Since then, Goodell has made more than any player.

It seems that the league is using this promotion to mask some of the great blunders the NFL has made. The blunders include Goodell’s failed attempt to suspend New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for four games, after Brady allegedly told team personnel to deflate the game balls used during the 2014 AFC Championship game versus the Indianapolis Colts.

The same can be said for former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice. After punching his then-fiancee in the face, he was only given a two-game suspension until the NFL came to its senses and suspended him indefinitely.

Many players around the league, like running back Pittsburgh Steelers DeAngelo Williams and defensive end Cameron Heyward, have a special connection to this month.

Williams’s mother passed away due to a long fight with breast cancer, and when he went to the league offices to ask if he could wear pink all season in honor of her, the league responded with a resounding “no,” according Lisa Salters during Monday Night Football.

They told Williams that he could only wear pink in the month of October, which is absurd. To combat this decision by the NFL, Williams dyed part of his dreadlocks pink to honor his late mother, a perfect slap in the face to the league.

Heyward lost his father to a battle with malignant bone cancer in 2006. After being diagnosed and undergoing treatment in 1998, he was cancer-free. The tumor on the base of his skull then relapsed in 2005, and he passed away the next year at the young age of 39.

As a tribute during BCA month, Heyward decided to write the words “Iron Head” on his eye black in honor of his father’s nickname, a subtle and kind way to highlight a great career that was taken away by a horrible disease. However, the league didn’t think so. The following week, the NFL fined him over $5,000 for violating the uniform policy.

Every time I think this organization cannot get any greedier, it does. The spectacle that is created with the game of football is fantastic and millions of fans love it. But what really goes on, behind the scenes, is cringeful.

 
Grant Sharretts is a Sports Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.