WASHINGTON -- Before President Donald Trump called on National Football League owners to fire players who refused to stand for the National Anthem, team owners spent more than $10 million on his behalf.

Many of those owners and their teams were critical of Trump after he called on them, "when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. Out. He's fired. He's fired,'"at a rally on Friday in Huntsville, Ala.

A case in point: New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, now U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, served as a vice chair of the Trump-Republican National Committee joint fundraising committee during the campaign, and then contributed $1 million to the inaugural committee, according to Federal Election Commission filings and the Center for Responsive Politics.

He also gave $449,200 to the joint fundraising effort and $5,400 to Trump's presidential campaign committee.

On Sunday, the Jets' acting chief executive, Christopher Johnson, said he was "disappointed" with Trump's comments, and joined his players in linking arms as a sign of unity during the National Anthem on Sunday.

Another $1 million inaugural donor, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, said he was "deeply disappointed by the tone" of Trump's comments.

"Our players are intelligent, thoughtful and care deeply about our community and I support their right to peacefully affect social change and raise awareness in a manner that they feel is most impactful,'' he said.

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam's Pilot Corp., which operates truck stops, donated $1 million to the host committee helping to fund the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where Trump was nominated for president.

On Sunday, he and his wife Dee rejected the "misguided, uninformed and divisive comments from the president."

"Our stance in support of the liberties of peaceful, personal expression afforded to our players and all Americans will remain strong, and we will continue to encourage our players to respectfully use their earned platform to inspire positive change in our nation and throughout society,'' they said.

Trump wasn't backing down.

Sports fans should never condone players that do not stand proud for their National Anthem or their Country. NFL should change policy! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2017

Besides Kraft and Woody Johnson, four other NFL owners also gave $1 million: Daniel Snyder of the Washington Redskins, Robert McNair of the Houston Texans, Stan Kroenke of the Los Angeles Rams and Shahid Kahn of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

McNair also gave $2 million to a super political action committee backing Trump, $449,000 to the joint fundraising committee, $100,000 to the convention host committee and $5,400 to the campaign.

He called Trump's remarks "divisive and counterproductive to what our country needs right now."

Edward Glazer, co-chairman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, contributed $250,000 to the inaugural after giving $50,000 to the joint fundraising committee and $5,400 to the Trump campaign.

Another Bucs co-chairman, Joel Glazer, issued the team's response to Trump.

"As we have stated previously, the Buccaneers recognize every individual's constitutional right to freedom of speech, which is crucial to the American way of life that we cherish," he said. "We are equally committed to the principles of inclusivity and respect for differing points of view that should be afforded to all Americans."

NFL Ventures, the league's sales and marketing arm, gave $100,000 to the inaugural committee.

Trump is a former owner of the New Jersey Generals of the defunct United States Football League.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.