Congress with 535 players and all its legislative maneuvering is very hard to tackle – even if you are the National Football League. Lobbying helps the NFL play the political game on Washington’s turf.

The National Football League reported spending $1.14 million lobbying the executive and legislative branches during the last twelve months, including $270,000 spent in the third quarter of 2013.

The NFL lobbied on issues relating to the use of performance enhancing drugs and drug testing; labor issues generally, including player safety and antitrust issues; issues relating to the NFL Network and broadcast policies, including intellectual property; aviation issues related to the FAA Reauthorization; and federal concussion legislation.