As it turns out, today’s Super Bowl match-up involves the NFL’s top two teams in terms of paid patriotism—those all-American displays paid for by the military without being advertised as such.
According to a 2015 report compiled and published by Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, the Falcons and the Patriots received more military funding for their patriotic displays than any other football teams between 2012 and 2015. Here are the portions of the report detailing the money that the two teams were paid for acts such as recognizing service members’ birthdays and allowing service members to hold the flag on the field, among others:
http://deadspin.com/a-reminder-that-the-falcons-and-patriots-were-no-1-and-1792017426