Report: NFL teams were paid to salute soldiers during home games

It's common for NFL teams to show their support for military personnel during home games, but according to a report by Christopher Baxter and Jonathan D. Salant of NJ.com, some of these patriotic displays have come at the expense of taxpayers.

Records obtained by NJ.com show that the U.S. Department of Defense paid 14 NFL teams a total of $5.4 million between 2011 and 2014 to honor the military. The New York Jets received $377,000 during that time from the Department of Defense and the Jersey Guard, some of which was used for their "Hometown Hero" segment, according to the records.

Jets spokesman Bruce Speight said the team has "consistently supported all five branches of the U.S. armed forces," and that that commitment is independent of any sponsorship.

"As with all of our sponsors, we have worked with the National Guard to create tailored advertising and marketing programs to meet their specific objectives which in this case was recruitment and retention by targeting our fans and audience through media and stadium assets controlled by the team," Speight said.

Speight noted that the Jets recently donated $1 million to Building for America’s Bravest, a non-profit organization that builds smart homes for catastrophically injured service members.

The Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams also received taxpayer money for their military tributes, records show.