Why are Texas taxpayers handing over almost $2.2 million to help with the NFL Draft?

The 2018 NFL Draft looks like a money-making machine, with close to 300,000 fans expected to show up to AT&T Stadium over the course of the three-day football extravaganza.

But draft organizers apparently need some help defraying some of the costs.

Gov. Greg Abbott's Event Trust Funds is kicking in $2,175,247 for the event, which is hosted by Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys and begins Thursday.

What it is being used for isn't exactly clear, but these funds have been used in the past to pay expenses related to "preparing for or conducting an event," according to the governor's website.

The endorsing cities for the event are Arlington, Dallas and Frisco, but the application was made by the Dallas Sports Commission, which helps plan sporting events in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Fort Worth got a similar amount — $2,167,713 — for the AAA Texas 500 NASCAR Race Weekend last November.

Dallas got $1,724,137.93 for T.D. Jakes' event, MegaFest 2017, last June.

The Events Trust Fund is intended to offset some of the costs for large-scale events by paying state taxes collected during the event back to the organizers, according to the Texas Tribune.

The city of Arlington referred all questions about how the funds are being used to the Dallas Sports Commission, which is the local organizing committee.

Officials with the Sports Commission didn't immediately respond to emails or voice mails about how the funds are being used for the draft.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 5:30 PM with the headline "Why are Texas taxpayers handing over almost $2.2 million to help with the NFL Draft?."