As they are the most important team in the league, we start with the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings: Zygi Wilf
The Wilf family and partners purchased the Vikings for $600 million in 2005.
Arizona Cardinals: Michael Bidwill
Charles Bidwill, Michael’s grandfather, bought the league’s oldest team in 1933.
Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Blank
Blank bought the Falcons for $545 million in 2002.
Baltimore Ravens: Steve Bisciotti
The record books show the Ravens as a 1996 expansion team. In reality, they are the original Cleveland Browns. Bisciotti gained full ownership of the Ravens for total investments of $600 million in 2004.
Buffalo Bills: Kim and Terry Pegula
The Pegula’s purchased the Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014.
Carolina Panthers: David Tepper
Tepper bought the Panthers for $2.3 billion in 2018.
Chicago Bears: McCaskey Family
The Bears have been in the Halas-McCaskey family since George Halas “founded” the team in 1920.
Cincinnati Bengals: Mike Brown
Brown has owned and operated the Bengals since the 1991 passing of his father, Paul Brown.
Cleveland Browns: Dee and Jimmy Haslam
The current Cleveland Browns are the expansion team that the league claims the Ravens to be. The Haslams purchased the Browns for $1.1 billion in 2012.
Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones
Jones purchased the Cowboys for $140 million in 1989.
Denver Broncos: Greg Penner
Penner purchased the Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022.
Detroit Lions: Shelia Ford Hamp
Hamp inherited the Lions from her mother. William Clay Ford, Hamp’s grandfather, purchased the team for $6 million in 1963.
Green Bay Packers: ME
As a shareholder, I own the Green Bay Packers.
Houston Texans: Cal McNair
Bob McNair, Cal’s father, purchased the expansion Texans for $700 million in 1999.
Indianapolis Colts: Carlie Irsay-Gordon
After the passing of Jim Irsay, Irsay-Gordon inherits control of the Colts. The ownership history of the Baltimore-Indianapolis Colts and the Irsay’s acquisition of the team are far too complicated to be detailed here.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Shahid Khan
Khan bought the Jaguars for $760 in 2011.
Kansas City Chiefs: Clark Hunt
Lamar Hunt founded the Chiefs, and the AFL, in 1960. Clark Hunt inherited the team from his father in 2006.
Las Vegas Raiders: Carol and Mark Davis
Using sketchy means, Al Davis wrestled control of the Raiders in the late 1960s, early 1970s. Carol and Mark Davis inherited the team in 2011.
Los Angeles Chargers: Dean Spanos
Alex Spanos, Dean’s father, bought the Chargers in 1984. Dean Spanos and siblings inherited the team in 2018.
Los Angeles Rams: Stan Kroenke
Kroenke purchased the St. Louis Rams for $750 million in 2010. In one of the league’s great, unspoken mysteries, relatives Stan Kroenke and Greg Penner own the Rams and Broncos.
Miami Dolphins; Stephen Ross
Ross bought the Dolphins for $1.1 billion in 2008.
New England Patriots: Robert Kraft
Kraft bought the Patriots for $172 million in 1994.
New Orleans Saints: Gayle Benson
Tom Benson purchased the Saints for $70 million in 1985. Gayle Benson inherited the team in 2018.
New York Giants: John Mara and Steve Tisch
Tim Mara bought the Giants for $500 in 1925. Through Jack and Wellington and now John, the team has been with the Mara family ever since. Steve Tisch’s family purchased 50% of the team in 1991.
New York Jets: Christopher and Woody Johnson
Woody Johnson purchased the Jets for $635 million in 2000.
Philadelphia Eagles: Jeffrey Lurie
Lurie bought the Eagles for $195 million in 1994.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Art Rooney II
From Art to Dan to Art II, the Steelers have been in the Rooney family since 1933.
San Francisco 49ers: Denise DeBartolo York and John York
The most curious thing about the 49ers ownership under the DeBartolo’s is the erasing of Edward DeBartolo Jr.’s ownership of the team. According to ESPN’s paragraph about the 49ers ownership, Edward DeBartolo Sr. purchased the 49ers for roughly $15 million in 1977. Just like it was H.L. Hunt’s money in 1960 that allowed Lamar Hunt to buy an AFL team, it was daddy’s money in 1977, that allowed Junior to buy the 49ers. It was Junior that ran the team. It’s Junior that lifted five Lombardi Trophies. It’s Junior that’s in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for running the team. As far as I can recall, the only thing Senior ever did with the 49ers was provide the money. For some reason, Junior’s ownership involvement is being erased. All for a gambling scandal? With the NFL’s current cuddle with all forms of gambling, that’s surprising.
Seattle Seahawks: Jody Allen
Jody Allen is effectively the owner of the Seahawks but the team is technically part of the trust of Paul Allen. Jody Allen is the trustee and executor of her brother’s estate.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Glazer Family
Malcolm Glazer purchased the Buccaneers for $192 million in 1995. After his death in 2014, his six children split the majority ownership of the Buccaneers.
Tennessee Titans: Amy Adams Strunk
Bud Adams founded the Houston Oilers and, with Lamar Hunt, helped found the AFL in 1960. When Adams died in 2013, Adams Strunk inherited a third of the franchise from her father. She assumed controlling ownership from her sister in 2015.
Washington Commanders: Josh Harris
Josh Harris bought the Commanders for $6.1 billion in 2023.
No comments:
Post a Comment