Jay Feely, who spent 14 seasons as an NFL kicker for six teams, took a big step toward becoming a United States congressman representing a district that includes parts of Phoenix and most of Scottsdale by winning an Arizona Republican primary Tuesday night.
Feely defeated former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik and businessman John Trobough in a race in which he had the endorsement of President Donald Trump but was accused by his opponents of not being conservative enough.
CBS Sports reporter Jay Feely during the game between the Carolina Panthers and the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on Sept. 27, 2020. (Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
Feely will face the winner of a still-uncalled Democrat primary between former state Rep. Amish Shah and former broadcast journalist Marlene Galán-Woods in the general election.
“Why did I decide to run for office? It is a desire to leave this country better for our children and our grandchildren,” Feely told his supporters at his victory celebration. “That’s it in its core.
“You know, what we’re doing is fighting for the future of this country. I truly believe that. When you look at the two parties, they’ve never been further apart ideologically. Never. And the Democrat Party has embraced Democratic socialism.
“They have chosen to move further to the left. They are talking about abolishing the border. They’re talking about abolishing the police department. They are talking about abolishing the Senate now. They want to get D.C. and Puerto Rico statehood.
“The things that they are talking about are changing the very foundation of this country, and what has made it great for 250 years. And we’re not going to let it happen.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell addresses the media during the Super Bowl Winning Team Head Coach and MVP Press Conference at the Mandalay Bay North Convention Center on Feb. 12, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
The Democrats spent approximately $7 million in their primary race, which illustrates how important they believe getting the right candidate to face off against Feely would be.
Feely, making his first bid for public office at age 50, was also well funded for his primary battle and, not surprisingly, at lot of that cash came from the sports world.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell contributed $7,000, which is the legal maximum for an individual.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill similarly gave $7,000 to lead a handful of owners joining the Feely cause. Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank ($3,500), New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft ($7,000), Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross ($5,000) and Denver Broncos owner Rob Walton ($7,000) all contributed.
Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam also donated.
FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2020 file photo Denver Broncos general manager John Elway speaks during a news conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. NFL teams are having to rely more heavily on game film of college prospects as they prepare for the draft at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has halted business as usual. On Tuesday, March 31, 2020 Elway said in a conference call, “We’ll just have to conclude the best we can from what we can see on the tape.”
Former players similarly helped fund Feely’s campaign. Former quarterbacks John Elway, Rich Gannon and Trent Green contributed. So did Jeff Saturday, Todd Heap, Richie Incognito, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher.
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And this: Charles Barkley contributed the maximum $7,000.
Feely should expect a tough campaign and close race in the coming months regardless of his opponent.
District 1 was reliably red from 1953 to 2009, but massive population growth over the years and a 2022 redrawing of the district’s lines turned it into a race Democrats won five times starting in 2013 and believe they can flip this year after losing in 2022.
Follow Senior NFL Writer Armando Salguero on X: @ArmandoSalguero
