Mattress storein Nashville, TN

This database was first published in July 24, 2023. It has since been updated multiple times. The last update came on April 10, 2024

Every year millions of dollars flow to Nashville, flooding the halls of Tennessee’s state capitol as a small number of deep-pocketed groups attempt to influence lawmakers.

The money comes in many streams through different legal channels, all aiming to influence regulations, push for tax breaks and secure government contracts, often to further private interests instead of the public. The Tennessee Lookout, relying on publicly filed lobbying and campaign finance reports, created a tool to search Tennessee’s top political spenders and recipients.

This tool allows users to discover who’s spending the most cash to influence lawmakers and different ways groups spend money to gain influence. Explore the top donors to every current lawmaker and the politicians raking in the most money.

More than 29,000 companies, people and political associations have donated at least $100 to Tennessee’s current crop of elected officials, their affiliated political action committees (PAC) and the political party PACs.

To start use the search tool below to see who’s giving the most to a politician or caucus (search “Bill Lee” or “Tennessee Democratic Caucus”) or see who’s receiving the most from a company or person (enter “FedEx” or “Boyd, Randy”).

A Flourish table

All the information in this article comes from the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance and relies on self-reporting by companies and individuals. If you want to contest any data in this story, email afriedman@tennesseelookout.com.

Cash for Clout is an ongoing series examining the influence of money on Tennessee politics. Other articles in the series include:

Then let’s move onto the leading political spenders in four categories:

Interactive content by Flourish

Next is the club of 192 companies, families and associations that have each spent more than $1 million on a combination of lobbying, donations and independent expenditures since 2009.

Interactive content by Flourish

To view the full list of groups that have spent over $1 million since 2009 click here.

Then, let’s move on to the politicians and a few of the groups choosing sides in Tennessee politics.

Finally, return to Tennessee’s current crop of elected officials, how much money they have raised and their top 25 donors.

The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs features 16 teams in eight best-of-7 series, which start Saturday. Today, NHL.com previews the Western Conference First Round between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators.

(1P) Vancouver Canucks vs. (1WC) Nashville Predators

Canucks: 50-23-9, 109 points

Predators: 47-30-5, 99 points

Season series: VAN: 3-0-0, NSH: 0-3-0

Game 1: Sunday, at Vancouver (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, SN360, TVAS)

Six of the eight teams that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference last season are back this season. The two new teams, the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators, will face each other.

It's the second time the teams will play in the postseason, after the Canucks won in six games in the second round in 2011.

Vancouver will host a playoff game for the first time since 2015, a six-game loss to the Calgary Flames in the first round. The Canucks' only trip to the postseason since then was 2020, when they lost in seven games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round, with all games played at Rogers Place in Edmonton because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I think this group is a confident one and we have all the confidence we need headed into Nashville," Canucks forward Dakota Joshua said. "It'll be exciting to get them at home first and then see how the series goes from there."

Nashville returns to the playoffs after failing to qualify last season for the first time since 2014.

"We're the underdog," said Predators coach Andrew Brunette, who is in his first season with the team. "We've got our work cut out for us. Let's just go at them. It's kind of the same mentality that we've had all year, let's just go straight forward."

The Canucks began the season 12-3-1, moved into the Pacific Division lead Dec. 23 and won their first division title since 2012-13.

The Predators started 5-10-0, but as they began to better understand their new systems, they went 13-3-0 in their next 16 games. They cemented themselves as a playoff team with a team-record 18-game point streak (16-0-2) from Feb. 17-March 26.

The Canucks swept the three-game series against the Predators, outscoring them 13-6. But all three games came in the first half of the season, before Nashville got its game going the right way.

"That definitely helps. You can beat them, but at the end of the day you start back off 0-0," Joshua said. "They were a pretty hot team down the stretch here so they're feeling probably a lot better than the times we played them earlier in the season, and it should be a great series."

Game breakers

Canucks: Quinn Hughes arguably was the most dominant defenseman in the NHL this season, leading players at his position with 92 points (17 goals, 75 assists) in 82 games, and was plus-38 while averaging 24:41 of ice time per game. The 24-year-old did some of his best work at even strength, with his 54 points in such situations first among defensemen. He was on the ice for 108 goals at even strength, second among defensemen to Evan Bouchard of the Edmonton Oilers (112), and his plus-41 even-strength goal differential was fourth. And when Hughes was on the ice the Canucks averaged 56.4 percent of the shots at 5-on-5. Simply put, whenever Hughes was on the ice, the Canucks had the puck and likely were creating something offensively.

Predators: Forward Filip Forsberg had the best offensive season of his 12 in the NHL, setting a Nashville record with 48 goals and finishing with 94 points (46 assists), a personal high. He also scored an NHL career-high 11 game-winning goals, tied with Florida Panthers forward Sam Bennett for second in the League, and his three overtime goals were tied for the lead.

Goaltending

Canucks: Demko looked ready for the postseason after returning to the lineup with 39 saves in a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, his first game since March 9 because of a knee injury. After struggling last season with a groin injury that kept him out for more than two months, Demko has been mostly healthy this season and played like a top goalie in the NHL, going 35-14-2 with a 2.45 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and five shutouts. Backup Casey DeSmith was reliable at times, going 4-5-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .888 save percentage while starting 10 of 14 games Demko was out, but the Canucks' fortunes will ride with Demko's play.

Predators: Juuse Saros had what could be considered an off season but only by his outstanding standards. Discounting his one game in 2015-16, Saros' 2.86 GAA was the highest of his nine-season NHL career, and his .906 save percentage was the lowest. He also allowed eight goals on 48 shots in losing both of his starts against the Canucks. But Saros has the ability to raise his game at big moments, with a .914 save percentage in the playoffs that's not far off his .917 regular-season percentage for his career. Kevin Lankinen was solid (11-6-0, 2.82, .908) in 24 games (17 starts) as the backup, but the wild card could be rookie Yaroslav Askarov, widely regarded as the NHL’s top goalie prospect. In his only start this season he made 26 saves in a 3-2 shootout win against the Washington Capitals that included saves on Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin in the tiebreaker. If Saros struggles, could Brunette turn to the 21-year-old for an energy boost?

See Canucks compete in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs

Numbers to know

Canucks: Vancouver scored the game's first goal 53 times, the most in the NHL, and had a .717 winning percentage when scoring first. They led the NHL with 96 goals in the first period, their plus-38 first-period goal differential was the best in the NHL and they were 29-6-3 when leading after one period.

Predators: Defenseman Roman Josi had 85 points (23 goals, 62 assists) in 82 games. It's the second time in the past three seasons he's had at least 80 points, following his 96-point season in 2021-22. As important to the Canucks as Hughes is, Josi is just as much of an offensive driver for the Predators

X-factors

Canucks: Forward Elias Lindholm has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 26 games with Vancouver after being acquired in a trade from the Calgary Flames on Jan. 31. Lindholm has bounce-back potential during the playoffs as he had 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 49 games with Calgary prior to the trade. He at least finished on a bit of a roll with five points (two goals, three assists) in six games to close the regular season and is seeing top-six ice time and significant power-play usage. -- Anna Dua

Predators: Gustav Nyquist was third on the Predators with an NHL career-high 75 points (23 goals, 52 assists) in 81 games. He has been a fixture on the top line with Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly, who was second to Forsberg with 26 goals. With Predators having struggled against the Canucks during the regular season, Nyquist being effective on their top line and first power-play unit will be necessary for Nashville to offset Vancouver's elite offense. -- Anna Dua

They said it

"We're excited to get prepared and look into their tendencies and their system. But we know ultimately it's about focusing on our game and playing certain way that we know has gotten us to this point." -- Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers

"Obviously I'm familiar with a lot of those guys. I played there the last couple of years. We'll start talking about sort of what they do and their tendencies, just like you would on any team in prescout. They've got a lot of talent." -- Predators defenseman Luke Schenn, who played for the Canucks from 2021-23

Will win if …

Canucks: They don't get caught up in the moment. Most of the core was in place in 2020 when they made a surprise run, but there were no fans in the bubble. Now they'll be the favorite and under pressure from what certainly will be a sold-out Rogers Arena, packed with fans with huge expectations. It can be a bit much for a group that's never experienced it, but the focus will have to be on staying even-keeled through the highs and lows that come with postseason hockey.

Predators: Saros can carry his strong play from late in the regular season into the playoffs. He was 15-3-3 with a 2.51 GAA and .916 save percentage in his final 21 games, allowing two goals or fewer in 13 of them. The Canucks can attack in waves, so the Predators will need their No. 1 goalie to play like a star if they are to have any hope of advancing.

How they look

Pius Suter -- J.T. Miller -- Brock Boeser

Nils Hoglander -- Elias Pettersson -- Ilya Mikheyev

Dakota Joshua -- Elias Lindholm -- Conor Garland

Vasily Podkolzin -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty

Quinn Hughes -- Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy -- Tyler Myers

Ian Cole -- Nikita Zadorov

Thatcher Demko

Casey DeSmith

Scratched: Mark Friedman, Nils Aman, Noah Juulsen, Phillip Di Giuseppe

Injured: None

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Gustav Nyquist

Jason Zucker -- Colton Sissons -- Mark Jankowski

Anthony Beauvillier -- Tommy Novak -- Luke Evangelista

Cole Smith -- Michael McCarron -- Kiefer Sherwood

Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi

Jeremy Lauzon -- Alexandre Carrier

Spencer Stastney -- Luke Schenn

Juuse Saros

Kevin Lankinen

Scratched: Tyson Barrie, Dante Fabbro, Jaret Anderson-Dolan, Cody Glass

Injured: None

NHL.com independent correspondents Darrin Bauming and Robby Stanley contributed to this report

NASHVILLE – A week away from the NFL Draft, most draft analysts have the Titans taking a tackle or a receiver with the 7th overall pick.

Former NFL General Manager Mark Dominik, speaking on a SiriusXM NFL Radio conference call on Thursday, thinks that's a scenario that could play out for Tennessee in the first round.

Dominik, however, threw out "dark horse" for the Titans at 7.

"If it's down to tackle and receiver, then I think they'll take the tackle," Dominik said. "I think the receiver class is deep enough where you could go to round 2, especially with what they have done at receiver with (Calvin) Ridley and (DeAndre) Hopkins, and (Treylon) Burks. I just don't think that is going to be the fit that they're looking for.

But …

"My dark horse is Brock Bowers," Dominik said. "If he's available, I think he's going to go over the tackle for the Titans."

Bowers, of course, has been linked to the Titans since February, when the Georgia tight end got a lot of attention Super Bowl week when naming the Titans as a team he'd like to play for in the NFL.

Bowers chuckled when asked about it a few weeks later at the NFL Combine, while indicating he met with the Titans – and plenty of other teams – in Indianapolis.

"I met with the Titans, and it went good, I thought," Bowers said from Indianapolis.

Bowers said he mentioned the Titans during an interview with Pro Football Talk (PFT Live) on Super Bowl Radio Row in Las Vegas because it's "a cool place to live. Nashville, Tennessee, it would be cool."

Dominik, who worked in a NFL front office role for 20 seasons, 19 of them with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, could see a scenario where the Titans pick Bowers.

"I think that's a piece that (the Titans) need badly," Dominik said of Bowers, who became the first two-time John Mackey Award winner. In 35 games with the Bulldogs, Bowers recorded the most receptions (175), receiving yards (2,538) and receiving touchdowns (26) by a tight end in SEC history.

"I'm a huge fan of Brock Bowers, and I think he's very low in a lot of peoples' mock drafts. I think he is going to go easily in the top 10 in my opinion. And so, I think if he is available, that's the direction I would go (at 7) and then come back in the second round and take the tackle in the second round, because the tackle draft class is a lot stronger. I think there's going to be 8 to 10 tackles taken in the top 50-60 players."

Dominik first served as a pro personnel assistant and scout, then as the team's Director of Scouting, with the Buccaneers before ultimately being named the franchise's General Manager. His five draft classes as the Buccaneers GM produced four All-Rookie team members, three Pro Bowlers, and 13 players who started a minimum of three years for the franchise.

Dominik, who will be a draft analyst on the SiriusXM NFL Radio and SiriusXM College Sports Radio channels, further explained his reasoning for picking Bowers over a tackle like Notre Dame's Joe Alt.

Dominik said he considers Marvin Harrison Jr. "way better" than receivers Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze, but as it relates to the Titans, he thinks receiver is "a luxury" and not a need. Dominik said he'd rather see the Titans take two tackles or fill another need over taking another receiver for 2024. And, he said he won't be surprised if the team doesn't take a single receiver in this year's draft.

"I think the value in this draft class is offensive tackle, especially early, like top 50 picks," Dominik said. "If I can walk out with Bowers and still end up with a tackle like (Oklahoma's Tyler) Guyton that I like, that I trust, that I could possibly play out there Week One, or a Patrick Paul (from Houston) or Jordan Morgan (from Arizona), that feels better than the opposite where maybe I get (Texas tight end Ja'Tavion) Sanders, because really there's only two tight ends in this class that are going to go high, and Alt. Alt is very safe, as we all know, and there is nothing wrong with that. But I feel like my combination of Brock and that fifth tackle or sixth tackle or seventh tackle on the board, I think it will be more powerful for this team. I don't dislike (current Titans tackle) Nicholas Petit-Frere, but I don't know if he is going to make it in terms of his physicality. But I can put Nick out there. So the need is there. But when you look at the tight end room, Chig (Okonkwo) is the only really tight end, and then you have (Josh) Whyle, who hasn't really had the opportunity. Chig, to me, just goes back to some of the stuff we're worried about at tight end, sometimes he just drops balls he shouldn't drop.

"I think for a young quarterback (like Will Levis), to have that tight end that says, 'Hey, I can run screens.' We're not protecting very well, and I could just dump the ball off here all day long and get six, seven, eight yards. I think it just makes a lot of sense, and I trust my combination if I walk out with Bowers and Jordan Morgan rather than I walk out with Alt and another position because Sanders went higher than I thought he was going to go and I just didn't get him."

The NFL Draft begins next Thursday in Detroit.

Before Calvin Ridley surprisingly agreed to sign with the Titans, the receiver had reportedly narrowed his choices to two teams — the Jaguars or Patriots.

In a Thursday press conference, New England's top personnel man Eliot Wolf offered a simple explanation as to why Ridley ended up heading to the dark-horse team.

"Another team offered more money would be the main thing," Wolf said, via Evan Lazar of the team's website.

Ridley agreed to a four-year deal worth a reported $92 million with $50 million fully guaranteed.

A week before the draft, the Patriots have Demario Douglas, JuJu Smith-Schuster, K.J. Osborn, and Kendrick Bourne among their top receivers. Wolf admitted that he's "not sure” the team has a player who can win every time when lined up alone on the weak side of a formation. But the team has studied potential options that aren't just incoming rookies.

"We've had conversations with teams about different scenarios," Wolf said. “Not just at receiver but at other positions. That's definitely something that we'd be open to.”

After finishing 4-13 last season, New England holds the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft. The Patriots appear likely to pick a quarterback with their first selection.

NASHVILLE — The Titans are scheduled to have the seventh overall selection and seven total picks in the 89th Annual National Football League Player Selection Meeting, which will be held next week in Detroit, Mich.

The draft opens with the first round on Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. CDT. Rounds 2 and 3 are set for the following evening, beginning at 6 p.m. CDT, and the process concludes with Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, April 27, at 11 a.m. CDT.

The draft will take place in the downtown Detroit area surrounding the award-winning Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Thirteen prospects are scheduled to attend the draft in person and will be greeted on the main stage by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Fans interested in attending the festivities can find more information at NFL.com/DraftAccess.

Meanwhile, Titans personnel involved in the selection process, including executive vice president/general manager Ran Carthon, head coach Brian Callahan, president of football operations Chad Brinker and the team's player personnel staff, will be situated in the C.O. Brocato Draft Room at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park in MetroCenter, just north of downtown Nashville.

All three days of the 2024 NFL Draft will be televised on NFL Network, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ABC, including Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN News 2.

For the 18th year, NFL Network will provide live on-location coverage. NFL Media—comprised of NFL Network, NFL Films, NFL.com, NFL+, the NFL App, NFL RedZone and free-ad supported television streaming service NFL Channel—will feature more than 60 original hours of Draft Week coverage beginning Sunday, April 21.

Join the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium as we celebrate the first round of the NFL Draft at the 2024 Titans Draft Party, presented by Pinnacle!

Those wishing to attend this free, family-friendly event must claim a free ticket using the link below.

LERAN MORE

On Thursday and Friday, ESPN and ABC will have two distinct draft telecasts, offering viewers multiple ways to consume the event. On Saturday, ABC will simulcast ESPN's presentation.

The draft will be streamed live via NFL and ESPN digital properties across devices (phone, PC, tablet and connected TVs). Restrictions may apply.

Titans Radio, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone, will carry draft programming across the Mid-South with a team that includes Mike Keith, Dave McGinnis, Ramon Foster, Amie Wells and Rhett Bryan. Titans Radio's broadcast includes Thursday coverage from 6-10 p.m. CDT, Friday coverage from 6-9 p.m. CDT, and Saturday coverage from 4-6 p.m. CDT.

National radio coverage will be provided by SiriusXM NFL Radio, Westwood One and ESPN Radio.

Senior writer/editor Jim Wyatt will lead the draft coverage at TennesseeTitans.com, which will feature interviews, videos, press conferences and more, updated continuously on the web, at the Titans mobile app and on all official team social channels.

The Titans' current picks are comprised of four of their seven original selections and three additional picks acquired in trades. They surrendered their third-round choice to the Arizona Cardinals in the 2023 draft-day deal that allowed them to select quarterback Will Levis. Their original fifth-rounder went to the Carolina Panthers in the 2022 swap for offensive lineman Dennis Daley. Most recently, the Titans sent their seventh-round selection to the Cleveland Browns for offensive lineman Leroy Watson IV.

The Titans own their original sixth-rounder, but only after dealing it to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 for defensive back Ugo Amadi and then reacquiring it in the 2023 trade that included safety Kevin Byard.

The Titans also gained a fifth-rounder from Philadelphia in the Byard deal, a sixth-rounder from Philadelphia in the Amadi swap, and a seventh rounder from Kansas City as part of the 2024 offseason trade for cornerback L'Jarius Sneed.

This year the Titans did not receive any of the NFL's 32 compensatory picks that are awarded in Rounds 3-7 based on net unrestricted free agency losses a year ago.

Teams are permitted to trade any pick, including compensatory selections.

In determining draft order, non-playoff clubs select first through 18th, according to the reverse order of their standing (i.e., the team with the lowest winning percentage receives the first pick, the team with the second-lowest winning percentage receives the second pick, etc.). Playoff teams select 19th through 32nd based on their level of advancement in the postseason.

Ties in the draft order are broken by figuring the aggregate won-lost-tied percentage of each involved club's regular season opponents (strength of schedule) and awarding preferential selection order to the club which faced the schedule of teams with the lowest aggregate won-lost-tied percentage. If ties still exist, the divisional, conference or interconference tie-breaking methods are applied, whichever is applicable.

Clubs involved in two-club ties alternate positions from round-to-round.

In ties that involve three or more clubs, the club at the top of a tied segment in a given round will move to the bottom of the segment for the next round, while all other clubs in the segment move up one position. This rotation continues throughout the draft.

The Titans were one of two teams with a 6-11 record in 2023, along with the New York Giants. The Giants had a .512 strength of schedule in 2023, while the Titans finished with a .522 strength of schedule. As a result, the Giants own the sixth overall choice in the first round, and the Titans pick seventh. In the second round, the Titans move to the sixth slot (38th overall), while the Giants pick seventh (39th overall). They will rotate positions throughout the remainder of the draft.

Since 1967, when the NFL and AFL agreed to a "common draft," the Titans/Oilers have never had the seventh overall draft pick. They did have the seventh pick in the 1962 AFL Draft and took Howard Payne University defensive tackle Ray Jacobs.

The seventh pick of the 2023 NFL Draft was Texas Tech defensive end Tyree Wilson, who was taken by the Las Vegas Raiders. As a rookie, Wilson appeared in all 17 games and registered 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

The recent list of players selected seventh overall also includes tackle Penei Sewell (2021, Detroit), defensive tackle Derrick Brown (2020, Carolina), outside linebacker Josh Allen (2019, Jacksonville), quarterback Josh Allen (2018, Buffalo), defensive lineman DeForest Buckner (2016, San Francisco), wide receiver Mike Evans (2014, Tampa Bay) and running back Adrian Peterson (2007, Minnesota).

In 57 drafts in the common draft era, there have been 26 total No. 7 overall picks (45.6 percent) that have gone on to make at least one Pro Bowl. The list includes two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: defensive lineman Bryant Young, who was selected seventh overall by the San Francisco 49ers in 1994, and cornerback Champ Bailey, chosen by the Denver Broncos in 1999.