Broncos outscore Seahawks in political donations

• Republicans receive nearly three-quarters of political donations tied to NFL owners%2C employees and their relatives
• Broncos QB Peyton Manning has donated to Sen. Lamar Alexander%2C R-Tenn.%2C up for re-election in November
• Pittsburgh Steelers buck NFL trend and have donated heavily to Democrats in recent elections

WASHINGTON — The Denver Broncos aren't just the NFL's highest-scoring team; its employees also have given more money to federal politicians than have their rivals in Sunday's Super Bowl.

Broncos' owners, employees and their relatives have contributed at least $84,000 to federal candidates and political parties since Jan. 1, 2011 — nearly twice what people affiliated with the Seattle Seahawks have donated, a USA TODAY analysis finds. The teams face off at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., for Super Bowl XLVIII.

Individuals affiliated with the National Football League, its 32 member teams and the players' union donated nearly $7.7 million to federal campaigns in that same time period. Nearly three-quarters of the money went to Republican candidates and causes.

The Broncos are no exception, giving either to Republicans or to the league's political action committee, according to the review of Federal Election Commission records. Among the top givers: team executive and former quarterback John Elway, who pumped more than $50,000 into Republican Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign and has donated $3,500 over two election cycles to Rep. Mike Coffman, a Republican who represents parts of suburban Denver.

The Broncos' current quarterback, Peyton Manning, also favors the GOP, donating $5,200 last year to Sen. Lamar Alexander, who is up for re-election in Tennessee in November. The two share roots: Alexander served as president of the University of Tennessee where Manning was a star quarterback in 1990s.

"I always root for Peyton Manning," Alexander said in an e-mail. "I don't know a finer representative of the university."

The Broncos declined to make Manning and team executives available for interviews.

The biggest giver on the Seahawks' roster was owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who donated more than $40,000 during the period examined. The contributions were divided nearly evenly between Republicans and Democrats, ranging from Rep. David Camp, R-Mich., who chairs the House tax-writing committee, to Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., a former Microsoft executive now in her second term.

Allen declined comment through a spokeswoman.

This year's Super Bowl contenders, however, are not the NFL's powerhouses in political giving. No NFL team is as active as the Houston Texans, whose billionaire owner, Robert McNair, plowed $3 million into super PACs working to elect Republicans to the White House and Congress in the last election. The lion's share went to a pro-Romney super PAC.

"I support candidates that support the free-enterprise system and believe in free trade," McNair told USA TODAY on Tuesday. "Most of the people who support those policies are people in the Republican Party."

McNair said he hasn't settled on a 2016 White House candidate but planned to continue writing checks to influence upcoming elections. "We should all contribute as much as we possibly can to try to ensure that we have good government and policies that we think are beneficial to society and being implemented."

Individuals affiliated with the Pittsburgh Steelers donated more than $480,000 and sent 68% of their campaign cash to Democrats, according to the analysis. The team's longtime chairman, Dan Rooney, campaigned on President Obama's behalf in the Keystone State during the 2008 campaign and was rewarded for his support with an ambassadorship to Ireland during Obama's first term.

Two-thirds of donations from the New York Giants also went to Democrats. Among the recipients: New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who played football as a Stanford undergrad. Booker, who won a special election to replace the late senator Frank Lautenberg, scored contributions last year from Giants chairman Steven Tisch, defensive end Justin Tuck and wide receiver Victor Cruz.

The analysis also shows some in the NFL supporting their own. Last year, Oakland Raiders quarterback coach John DeFilippo donated $550 to Republican Andrew Walter, a former Raiders player running for Congress from Arizona.

Walter said others in the NFL are starting to get involved. The Broncos' Brock Osweiler, for example, recently contributed and plans to work on his campaign during the off-season, Walter said. (He would not say how much Osweiler has donated. Reports detailing fourth-quarter contributions to candidates are due at week's end.)

Walter, who wants to oust first-term Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, said the NFL is good prep for public service. "You've got guys from incredibly diverse backgrounds — inner city, country, South, West — and you come into the locker room and you sacrifice yourself to be part of the team," he said.

"You put it all on the line for the person next to you."