President Donald Trump has never been shy about his feelings toward the NFL, and over the weekend, he delivered a pointed message to all 32 owners: he's still waiting for the price of admission to come down.
In a Saturday conversation with sports media personality Clay Travis, Trump was asked whether he ever thinks about what might have been had he purchased an NFL team instead of entering politics. The 80-year-old commander-in-chief didn't hesitate, firing back with a warning that suggests he hasn't given up on the idea of owning a franchise.
“Well, I’ve been waiting for 45 years for the prices to come down. Do you understand?” Trump said, according to remarks shared by Travis.
The comment underscores a long-running, often contentious relationship between Trump and the NFL, one that predates his political career by decades. As ABC News notes, the feud traces back to the 1980s, when Trump owned the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL).
Trump acquired the Generals after their inaugural 1983 season and immediately set his sights on challenging the NFL's dominance. He poached several top players from the established league, and by 1985, he and other USFL owners voted to move from a spring to a fall schedule—a move widely seen as an attempt to force a merger with the NFL, according to the Associated Press.
That aggressive strategy ultimately backfired, leading to the USFL's collapse and a token antitrust victory that netted the league just $1. That history still lingers, and Trump has acknowledged it played a role in his approach to a more recent bid: his 2014 attempt to buy the Buffalo Bills.
“I did it a little tentatively,” Trump recalled. “When I put the bid in for the Buffalo Bills, I always was a little concerned if the NFL would remember how I knocked the hell out of them.” His offer, rumored to be below $1 billion, was unsuccessful, and the franchise was sold to Terry and Kim Pegula.
Despite that defeat, Trump's latest comments suggest he remains intrigued by the prospect of owning an NFL team. But for now, he appears more focused on the college game. On Saturday, he attended the Texas-Tennessee matchup in Knoxville, where he was joined by a mystery woman later revealed to be a senator. The crowd's reaction to his presence was unmistakable, with Tennessee fans roaring their approval throughout the game.
Trump's shifting allegiance to college football—and his ongoing war of words with the NFL—raises questions about whether he'll ever make another serious run at ownership. For now, his warning to the league's owners is clear: the wait isn't over, and neither is the fight.
As the NFL continues to see franchise valuations soar, Trump's comments serve as a reminder that his rivalry with the league is far from buried. Whether he ever gets his team remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: he won't be paying top dollar without a fight.
