So, Donald Trump might be interested in buying the Buffalo Bills. With that news there's been some speculation that some of the owners might still harbor some ill feelings toward Trump. As owner of the New Jersey Generals, Trump was part rival league USFL's antitrust lawsuit against the NFL in 1986. Those possible ill feelings got me wondering how many of the current NFL owners even owned their teams in 1986. There's been some changes in the last 27 years. The Minnesota Vikings, for example, have had three different ownership groups since that lawsuit. Here's the ownership situation of the NFL now and in 1986.
San Francisco 49ers-Jed York, nephew of 1986 owner Eddie DeBartolo
Seattle Seahawks-Paul Allen. Lloyd Nordstrom owned the team in 1986.
St. Louis Rams-Stan Kroenke. Georgia Frontiere then.
Arizona Cardinals-Bidwell family then and now.
Minnesota Vikings-Wilf family. Max Winter was the principal owner in 1986.
Chicago Bears-Virginia Halas McCaskey then and now.
Green Bay Packers-nutty bunch of Packers fans.
Detroit Lions-Ford family then and now.
New York Giants-John Mara/Steve Tisch. Wellington Mara then.
Washington Redskins-Daniel Snyder. Jack Kent Cooke then.
Philadelphia Eagles- Jeffrey Lurie. Norman Braman then.
Dallas Cowboys-Jerry Jones. Harvey Bright then.
New Orleans Saints-Tom Benson then and now.
Atlanta Falcons-Arthur Blank. Rankin Smith then.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Malcolm Glazer. Hugh Culverhouse then.
Carolina Panthers-Jerry Richardson. 1995 expansion team.
Oakland Raiders-Davis family then and now.
San Diego Chargers-Alex Spanos then and now.
Denver Broncos-Pat Bowlen then and now.
Kansas City Chiefs-Hunt family then and now.
Pittsburgh Steelers-Rooney family then and now.
Cincinnati Bengals-Brown family then and now.
Cleveland Browns-Jimmy Haslam.
Baltimore Ravens-Steve Bisciotti. Art Modell owned the Browns then.
Buffalo Bills-Wilson family then and now.
New England Patriots-Robert Kraft. Billy Sullivan then.
New York Jets-Woody Johnson. Leon Hess then.
Miami Dolphins-Stephen Ross. Joe Robbie then.
Indianapolis Colts-Irsay family then and now.
Jacksonville Jaguars-Shahid Kahn. 1995 expansion team
Houston Texans-Robert McNair. 1999 expansion team.
Tennessee Titans-Adams family then as the Houston Oilers and now.
The Baltimore Ravens were the Cleveland Browns prior to 1996. The current Cleveland Browns are an expansion more than they are the team that dominated the AAFC in the late 1940s and the NFL for much of the 1950s and won their last NFL title in 1964. I didn't realize it until now but the NFC has had much more ownership change in recent years than the AFC. Half of the current NFL owners have ties to the 1986 days when the league, as we knew it, was threatened by Trump and his rival league. Some were kids like Jed York. Others have moved up to ownership status following the passing of their fathers. John Mara, Mark Davis, Clark Hunt, and Jim Irsay among them. I actually don't think that Trump's role in the USFL and the antitrust lawsuit will keep him from pursuing ownership of the Bills or any NFL team that is on the market. The NFL is all about money and Trump certainly has that.
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