Jay Feely for Congress
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Getting ahead in politics is sometimes about who you know, and, unsurprisingly, former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely knows a lot of famous sports figures. As the 49-year-old Republican has revved the engines on a congressional campaign — first in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District and, after some political calculus led to a switch, in the 1st — he called upon those contacts for quite a lot of financial support.
From the time he announced his campaign last April through the end of 2025, the Trump-endorsed Feely raised more than $1 million in campaign funds. Nearly a third of that — $330,000 — was loaned to his campaign by Feely himself. Additionally, according to Federal Election Commission data examined by Phoenix New Times, more than $204,000 in donations came from figures across the sports world. That includes NFL coaches, executives and former players, as well as several luminaries in the sports broadcasting world. (Feely is also a football broadcaster for CBS.)
That Feely would hit up his sports connections to get his campaign off the ground would hardly be called controversial. But his campaign finance records do offer an interesting look at the extent of his powerful sports connections.
As one might expect, many current and former Cardinals figures are among Feely’s donors. Former Cards tight end Todd Heap gave $250, ex-head coach Bruce Arians gave Feely $500, and former assistant Harold Goodwin and his wife donated at least $1,000. Ken Whisenhunt, another former Cards head coach, donated $3,500.
More notable was the level of support from the Bidwill family, which owns the team. Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill gave $7,000 — the legal maximum, with half earmarked for the general election, should Feely advance past the primary — while three other members of the Bidwill family combined to give another $13,000.
Feely also landed support from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell ($7,000), league attorney Jeffrey Pash ($1,000) and league executive Courtney Streelman ($3,500). Other NFL owners have chipped in, including 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 S. Robson Walton ($7,000). Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam and several of his family members chipped in a combined $28,000.
Feely played for the Falcons and Dolphins and his career, but never the Patriots, Broncos or Browns.
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There’s also a who’s who of NFL coaches and retired players. Among the coaches are former New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin ($5,000), Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell ($500), former Dallas Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips ($2,000) and current Giants head coach John Harbaugh ($5,000, along with his wife). It does not appear that Feely has won the financial support of Harbaugh’s brother, San Diego Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Ex-players supporting Feely included former New York Jets receiver Jerricho Cotchery ($49), former Broncos quarterback John Elway ($2,000), former Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon ($500), former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Trent Green ($1,000, along with his wife), former Dolphins center Richie Incognito ($1,000), former Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday ($600, along with his wife) and former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher ($7,000). Feely also landed $7,000 from one Joan Romo, who, judging by her address, appears to be the mother of former Cowboys quarterback and current CBS broadcaster Tony Romo.
Feely has also pulled support from others in the Arizona sports world. Ex-Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed gave him $1,000, while Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick and his wife Randy — longtime supporters of conservative candidates — donated a combined $14,000. Jerry Moyes, the former owner of the Arizona Coyotes, gave Feely $2,000, and former Diamondbacks and Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo gave $1,000. Ex-Suns star Charles Barkley gave $7,000 and former Coyotes player Jeremy Roenick and his wife gave $750.
There’s also a grab bag of donations from people connected to Feely’s broadcasting career, including $500 from basketball analyst Greg Anthony and $3,500 from broadcasting legend Jim Nantz. Then there are more (seemingly) random sports figures: golfer Fred Couples ($1,000), former Los Angeles Angels outfielder Tim Salmon ($7,000) and the wife of baseball analyst John Smoltz ($3,500).
New Times sent an inquiry to Feely’s campaign spokesperson, asking if Feely wanted to expound on the relationships he’s built with some of his famous sports backers. No response was provided.
Feely has another campaign finance report due later this week, and his campaign has already teased another big fundraising haul: more than $740,000 raised in the first three months of 2026. So far, sports figures (including himself) have accounted for more than half of his campaign cash, so it will be interesting to see to what extent regular voters are accounting for that new sum.
So far, though, Feely’s war chest just goes to show how far kicking a ball accurately for 15 years will get you.
