Richard Sherman wants to eliminate public funding for NFL stadiums
Your teams. Your favorite writers. Wherever you want them. Personalize SI with our new App. Install on iOS or Android.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman told ESPN Radio in Seattle that if he were president, he would aim to reduce debt—including halting the spending of taxpayer dollars on NFL stadiums.
“I’d get us out of this deficit,” he said. “I’d stop spending billions of taxpayer dollars on stadiums and probably get us out of debt and maybe make the billionaires who actually benefit from the stadiums pay for them. That kind of seems like a system that would work for me.”
CenturyLink Field, the home of the Seahawks, cost $430 million and was paid for with $300 million raised by the public by 2021.
The Rams are the latest team to make a move to a new stadium, as they plan to open a new home in Inglewood, Calif., that will cost $1 billion in private money, but could then get back tens of millions from taxpayers once it opens.
• The Big Interview: One-on-one with Marshawn Lynch
In his hypothetical presidency, Sherman said he would tap wide receiver Doug Baldwin as his secretary of state and Tyler Lockett his vice president.
“Make America the place you want to raise your kids” would be his campaign slogan, Sherman told ESPN Radio.
