Bad Decision By the Eagles

by Posted on

The Eagles usually do the right thing, but not this time. They announced today that they are only having one open practice for the fans during this year’s Training Camp and that they will now be charging $10 with the proceeds going to the Eagles Autism Challenge.

Money for charity is always a good thing and we know this is a cause very close to owner Jeffrey Lurie’s heart. However, there must be a better way to do this. If you’re of the camp that it’s only $10, then you simply don’t get out of your own societal bubble enough.

25% of Philadelphians live below the national poverty level. 37% of all children in Philadelphia live below the poverty level. According to PEW:

About 400,000 residents—including roughly 37 percent of the city’s children under the age of 18—live below the federal poverty line, which is $19,337 in annual income for an adult living with two children. And nearly half of all poor residents are in deep poverty, defined as 50 percent below the federal poverty line.

Let’s take a family of four living at or below the poverty level. The odds that they ever get to take in a Philadelphia Eagles game is slim to none. Now, that family has to pay $40 to watch a practice and connect with their favorite team in person. While $40 isn’t a heck of a lot for many folks, it’s a total budget-breaker for 400,000 folks in the city, the same city that coughed up like $180M in taxpayer money for Lincoln Financial Field.

I think the Eagles mean well in raising money for charity. I simply think the people making the decision to charge a fee for practice do not spend a lot of time with those financially less fortunate. If you spend any amount of quality time in those communities, it is quite easy to see that $40 on a football practice is not a possibility.

If you’re one of those folks who might say something like “they aren’t less fortunate, they’re lazy”, then I feel sorry for you and your lack of empathy and I ask you to please realize that children living in poverty had nothing to do with their financial predicament and they should be able to see their favorite team practice, despite the mistakes you think their parents made.

The reality is that by charging $10 to get in, 37% of all the children living within Philadelphia probably cannot even think about seeing their Eagles in person. That’s outrageous.

What’s the Linc hold, 70,000? We’re talking about raising $700,000 for charity. It feels like the Eagles are nickel-and-diming the fan base of the poorest large city in the United States, especially from an organization worth over $2B. Again, the same city the put up $180M for the Linc’s construction.

To put it in perspective, the Eagles will pay one wide receiver more than $700K for every game in this upcoming season.

What are the solutions? The easiest is that the Eagles could just donate $700,000 to their Autism Challenge. Another is that the Eagles could get corporate sponsorships for that night to cover the $700K. Another possibility is to charge hefty fees for those who can afford VIP seating (Suites/Club Boxes) and offer some added values like tours of the locker room or special access to certain players. Or, my favorite option, make the practice a pay-what-you-can donation at the door and the Eagles match whatever they raise from donations. There’s a chance they could raise more than the $700K.

The Eagles have done so much right over the past few years that it pains me to call them out for this. I just don’t think the individuals making this decision see the big picture and how it affects a large portion of this city and, more importantly, a large portion of children who love their Philadelphia Eagles. To be exact, 37% of the children just living within Philadelphia. That doesn’t include those living in poverty in the surrounding areas.

While we are at it, limiting the open practices to one night also affects many Eagles fans, who would love a chance to see their team practice, but cannot because of work commitments. I know, being the son of a retired first-responder, that many die-hard Eagles fans will not be able to attend because they may have to work the night of the only open practice. That’s just not right, either.

I really hope the Eagles reconsider these decisions. If not this year, maybe next year. The city and Eagles fans deserve better.