During the XYZ Affair, back during the first Adams presidency, Robert Goodloe Harper most likely uttered the famous saying, “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute,” in response to French officials seeking a bribe.

Fast forward about 200 years and the sniveling cowards who run the NFL are offering $100 million in bribes for NFL players’ pet causes in order to get NFL players to end their assault on Old Glory and the Star-Spangled Banner.

At issue is a proposal by the NFL to donate $100 million to “social justice change” to mollify the radicalized NFL players. For now, the players seem unimpressed by this puny offer of appeasement and will respond to the NFL at a later time. One gets the sense the players are taking a don’t call us, we’ll call you approach to the NFL’s first bribe offer and will await a new one more to their liking.

The NFL honchos, who have botched the player protests from day one, are apparently even worse at bribery. There’s no guarantee this $100 million feel good money would stop the protest, certainly no explicit quid pro quo, only a hope this gesture will lead to a better atmosphere between team owners and the players.

On a national level, 25% of the bribery would go to the United Negro College Fund, 25% to Dream Corps, and 50% to the Players Coalition. The unspoken understanding is that the bribe money derives from league revenue from all of you suckers who buy NFL tickets and merchandise and pay cable fees.

So what is your money buying? Sitting on the Board of Directors of Dream Corps is none other than Van Jones, the former Obama aide who called the last presidential election a “white lash.” One of Dream Corps’ initiatives is “Green for All,” where the goal “is to make sure people of color have a place and a voice in the climate movement.” In Dream Corps’ core values they state, “We believe in magic,” and why not, with NFL money raining down on them from the sky like manna to support their shakedowns.

The Player’s Coalition is made up of protesting players seeking social justice, and it should be noted this coalition partners with organizations such as the Hopewell Fund whose “project’s members believe that cash might be the most effective and efficient way to provide financial security for more people. The project aims to explore how recurring, unconditional cash stipends could work, how to pay for them, and what the political path might be to make them a reality.” The Hopewell Fund’s Chair, Lee Bodner, partnered with the boy scouts at the Clinton Foundation.

Let me state the obvious. Money you contribute to NFL teams as part of being a football fan will be reallocated to hardline leftist organizations that use it to lobby for left-wing ideals and help elect hard-left politicians.

But what more can you expect from a league that is about to also spend its supporters’ money on a bountiful $50 million annual contract for Commissioner Roger Goodell, plus use of a private jet and health insurance for life. This is the same Commissioner who has defended players’ on-field protests, taken potshots at the sitting President, and presided over serious declines in TV ratings and game attendance.

Perhaps if John Adams, who was President during the XYZ Affair, were alive today, he would revise his often-repeated line to say: In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, three or more is a Congress, and 53 is an NFL roster.