League-level alignment baseline: The NFL was the first major American sports league at the center of the 2016–2018 anthem-kneeling debate sparked by Colin Kaepernick; in 2020 Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly said “we were wrong” for not listening to player protests sooner, and the league painted “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us” in end zones beginning in 2020; the league has since softened its on-field social-justice messaging while owners’ political donations split heavily Republican.
League summary
This league-level page sets the default baseline rating used for individual NFL team pages. Each team’s rating may be adjusted up (toward Aligned) or down (toward Not Aligned) based on owner-specific signals — political donations, public statements, franchise activism, or culture-war positioning. Note: most NFL owners are billionaire businessmen whose FEC records show strong Republican donor activity, even as the league office has positioned itself in the progressive direction on race and social-justice issues.
Claims & Sources
Claim 1: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell publicly said “we were wrong” in 2020 regarding the league’s response to player anthem protests.
Source: CBS News — “We were wrong,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says.
Claim 2: Roger Goodell said the league wishes it had listened earlier to Colin Kaepernick.
Source: NFL.com (official) — Roger Goodell wishes NFL had listened earlier to Colin Kaepernick.
All 32 NFL Teams
Every NFL team rated by Cast Your Dollar, sorted from most conservative-aligned to least. Click any team for the full breakdown with sources.
Browns — Rating 8 / Aligned
Cowboys — Rating 8 / Aligned
Chiefs — Rating 8 / Aligned
Patriots — Rating 8 / Aligned
Jets — Rating 8 / Aligned
Buccaneers — Rating 8 / Aligned
Bills — Rating 7 / Aligned
Broncos — Rating 7 / Aligned
Rams — Rating 7 / Aligned
Dolphins — Rating 7 / Aligned
Saints — Rating 7 / Aligned
Packers — Rating 5 / Mixed
Jaguars — Rating 5 / Mixed
Commanders — Rating 5 / Mixed
Cardinals — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Ravens — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Panthers — Rating 4 / Mixed
Bears — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Bengals — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Lions — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Texans — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Colts — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Raiders — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Chargers — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Vikings — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
49ers — Rating 4 / Mixed
Seahawks — Rating 4 / Mixed
Titans — Rating 4 / Not Aligned
Falcons — Rating 3 / Not Aligned
Giants — Rating 3 / Not Aligned
Eagles — Rating 3 / Not Aligned
Steelers — Rating 3 / Not Aligned
Rating scale: 1-3 Not Aligned (liberal) · 4-6 Mixed · 7-9 Aligned (conservative).