Report: Less than 10 percent of NFL pink merchandise sales go toward cancer research

Less than 10 percent of the overall sales from pink NFL merchandise actually goes toward cancer research, according to a recent report. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty

Less than 10 percent of the overall sales from pink NFL merchandise actually goes toward cancer research, according to a recent report. (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

Approximately 8 percent of sales from pink NFL merchandise go toward cancer research, according to a report this week from Business Insider.

The league uses the color on its jerseys and other apparel in an effort to raise money for breast cancer research, but according to the report, the breakdown of how the money from sales of the apparel gets distributed is as follows: 50 percent to the retailer; 37.5 percent to the manufacturer; 8.1 percent to the American Cancer Society for research; 3.24 percent to the administration at the Society; and 1.25 percent to the NFL.

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According to ESPN's Darren Rovell, the league "takes a 25% royalty from the wholesale price (1/2 retail), donates 90% of royalty to American Cancer Society." According to the Business Insider report, citing information from the NFL, any money the league makes that is not donated to the American Cancer Society goes directly toward covering the costs of the actual Breast Cancer Awareness program.

It should also be noted that the most common place for pink NFL merchandise to be sold is through the league's online store, individual teams and at the stadiums. Therefore, the NFL or the individual teams act as the retailer in this case and therefore receive a portion of the 50 percent that goes toward the "retailer."

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