Pence's Walk Out

The Financial Cost Of Pence's NFL Walk Out

Exactly one year ago, Vice President Pence attended an NFL game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers. When a dozen players from the 49ers kneeled during the national anthem to protest racial inequality, Pence left swiftly afterwards. Newly released documents from the Department of Homeland Security show that the vice president's early departure from the game was an extremely expensive form of protest for the American taxpayer.

It costs the federal government $43,000 an hour to fly Air Force Two according to The Huffington Post and the aircraft was in the air for at least six hours across both legs of the journey, meaning costs added up to around $250,000. On top of that, accommodation for Pence's security team cost $64,637.88 in nine different properties. The most expensive of those was the Marriott Indianapolis Downtown which had a bill of $25,151. All in all, the cost of Mike Pence not watching that NFL game a year ago is estimated to be a minimum of $325,000.

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This chart shows the cost of Mike Pence's trip to see the Colts play the 49ers on Oct 8, 2017

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Fan Cost Index of National Football League teams in 2025 (in U.S. dollars)
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Share of respondents who are more likely to watch NFL games if players kneel during the national anthem in the United States as of June 2020
Average Fan Cost Index in the National Football League from 2006 to 2023 (in U.S. dollars)
Average ticket price for Indianapolis Colts home games from 2006 to 2023 (in U.S. dollars)
Fan Cost Index of professional sports leagues in the United States as of 2023 (in U.S. dollars)
Average ticket price for San Francisco 49ers home games from 2006 to 2023 (in U.S. dollars)

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