John Fogarty: NFL visit a reminder of how different the GAA is

The visit of the Vikings and Steelers to Croke Park this week highlights what must be protected here.

Pittsburgh Steelers’s linebacker TJ Watt’s new three-year contract is worth €105 million. When Steelers and Vikings players lineout at Croke Park on Sunday, the notion that those who usually play at the stadium do so for free will be alien to the NFL stars. Pic: Joe Sargent/Getty Images

As sure as night follows day, no sooner will the NFL have ensconced themselves in Croke Park this week that a demonstration of the native games will be put on and one of the American entourage will baulk, “These guys do it for free?” In a sport where dollar signs are worn almost as regularly as they are thought about, there will be little understanding for the sensibilities of the GAA. The Pittsburgh Steelers’s linebacker TJ Watt’s new three-year contract is worth €105 million. Inter-county footballers and hurlers are more likely to be considered chumps than champions for not getting their greenbacks.

The arrival of the Steelers and Minnesota Vikings comes at a crucial time for the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). Last week, they submitted their pre-budget proposal for government grants to be increased by almost €1,000 to €2,500 per inter-county player in the male and female codes.