The 25 Richest NFL Team Owners
For the megarich, ownership of a sports franchise is the ultimate trophy — and an NFL team is the biggest cap feather of them all. Some of the richest NFL team owners inherited their franchises as part of massive hand-me-down fortunes.
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Other owners bought their teams after amassing enormous wealth on their own. In a few rare cases, the family fortune is actually based on ownership of the team. Team owners are ranked from least to most wealth, primarily based on data from Forbes.
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All the owners on this list are rich — sometimes even richer than the teams they own.
Last updated: Sept. 16, 2021
Pat Bowlen Trust: $1 Billion Net Worth
Team: Denver Broncos
Owner since: 1984
How much they purchased the team for: $470 million
How much the team is worth: $3.2 billion
Iconic Broncos owner Pat Bowlen was a successful lawyer and real estate developer before he bought the Broncos in 1984. During his 35-year tenure, Denver won 60% of its games, a winning percentage topped only by the Patriots. When Bowlen died at the age of 75 in June 2019, Celebrity Net Worth estimated his net worth at $1 billion. The Broncos are held in a trust in his name until new ownership is decided, with a court case scheduled for July 2021.
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Glazer Family: $1 Billion Net Worth
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Owner since: 2014
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $2.3 billion
Malcolm Glazer was the patriarch of the Glazer family, and when he died in 2014, he left his descendants an empire built on the First Allied Corporation, which includes millions of square feet of retail shopping space. He also willed them the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which he bought in 1995 for $192 million. Bryan Glazer, the son of Malcolm, is estimated to be worth $1 billion.
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Dean Spanos: $1 Billion Net Worth
Team: Los Angeles Chargers
Owner since: 2018
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $2.6 billion
Dean Spanos took over full ownership of the Chargers in 2018 when his father, Alex Spanos, passed away. Alex Spanos purchased majority interest in the Chargers in 1984 for $72 million. Spanos drew heavy criticism and scorn for moving the franchise from San Diego to Los Angeles in 2017.
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William Clay Ford Family: $1 Billion Net Worth
Team: Detroit Lions
Owner since: 1964
How much they purchased the team for: $4.5 million
How much the team is worth: $2.1 billion
William Clay Ford purchased a minority stake in the franchise in 1961, and he bought out the remaining minority owners on Nov. 22, 1963 (the same day that John F. Kennedy was assassinated). The sale was made official in 1964, and Ford remained the team's only owner until he passed away in 2014, when his wife, Martha Firestone Ford, assumed ownership. She passed principal ownership to her daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, in 2020.
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Steve Tisch: $1.2 Billion Net Worth
Team: New York Giants
Owner since: 2005
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $4.3 billion
Steve Tisch, whose net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion, owns half of the New York Giants — John Mara, who just missed the cut to appear in this list, owns the other half. In 2005, he took over a 50% stake in the Giants, which his father, Bob Tisch, purchased for $75 million in 1991 — the entire team sold for $150 million.
The elder Tisch co-founded the financial conglomerate Loews Corp. in 1946, and when he died in 2005, Steve Tish became half-owner of the No. 3 most valuable team in the NFL. His mother Joan was the largest Loews shareholder, and when she died in 2017, Steve Tisch inherited her fortune.
Zygmunt Wilf: $1.3 Billion Net Worth
Team: Minnesota Vikings
Owner since: 2005
How much they purchased the team for: $600 million
How much the team is worth: $2.95 billion
Zygmunt “Zygi” Wilf is a German immigrant and the son of Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors. His father and uncle formed a real estate company, which Hunt joined after working as a lawyer. After assuming control of the firm, he dramatically expanded the company’s portfolio, which now includes tens of thousands of apartments and vast commercial holdings. According to Celebrity Net Worth, he has a fortune of $1.3 billion.
Virginia Halas McCaskey and Family: $1.3 Billion Net Worth
Team: Chicago Bears
Owner since: 1920
How much they purchased the team for: $100
How much the team is worth: $3.5 billion
Few teams have a longer and prouder lineage than the Chicago Bears, whose 1,000-game history began in 1920 — the franchise is one of only two remaining charter members of the National Football League. That year, George Halas bought the team for $100 — three years before his daughter Virginia was born in 1923. The oldest owner in the NFL, Virginia Halas McCaskey — whose net worth Forbes estimated at $1.3 billion in 2018 — is among the only owners whose family fortune comes directly from owning a team, as opposed to buying a team after becoming independently wealthy.
The Hunt Family: $2 Billion Net Worth
Team: Kansas City Chiefs
Owner since: 1974
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $2.5 billion
The Hunt family is descended from American oil royalty. Their fortune can be traced to legendary wildcatter H.L. Hunt, who was once the richest man in the world and inspired the character J.R. Ewing on the TV show “Dallas." He had 15 children, and his many descendants control a vast network of energy companies, resorts, and real estate and sports franchises, including the Kansas City Chiefs, which H.L. Hunt purchased for $25,000 in 1960. Hunt died in 1974. Hunt’s late son Lamar is believed to have named the Super Bowl. Clark Hunt, who now runs the Chiefs, is worth $2 billion, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com.
Dan Snyder: $2.3 Billion Net Worth
Team: Washington Football Team
Owner since: 1999
How much they purchased the team for: $750 million
How much the team is worth: $3.5 billion
Dan Snyder made his money through his marketing firm Snyder Communications, which he formed after dropping out of college. He took the company public in 1996 and then sold it to a French company in 2000 — the year after he bought the franchise then known as the Redskins — for $2.1 billion. The team is currently searching for a new name and is known as the Washington Football Team. Today, Snyder’s net worth today is estimated at $2.3 billion.
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Jeffrey Lurie: $2 Billion Net Worth
Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Owner since: 1994
How much they purchased the team for: $1.85 billion
How much the team is worth: $3.4 billion
Jeffrey Lurie, worth $2 billion, has owned the Eagles for more than a quarter-century. He took out a loan to buy the team, but he earned his fortune in the movie and media business. He became an executive in the General Cinema Corporation, founded by his grandfather in 1983, and later founded Chestnut Hill Productions.
Jimmy and Dee Haslam: $4 Billion Net Worth
Team: Cleveland Browns
Owner since: 2012
How much they purchased the team for: $987 million
How much the team is worth: $2.4 billion
In 1958, Jim Haslam bought a single gas station for $6,000. In the ensuing decades, he turned that into the truck stop empire that is Pilot Flying J, which has 750 locations in 44 states and did $29 billion in revenue in 2018. His son Jimmy, along with Jimmy's wife, Dee, bought the Browns in 2012. Jimmy had served on the Pilot board of directors since he was a college student. Jim Haslam’s other son became the governor of Tennessee. Jimmy and Dee Haslam are worth $4 billion.
Jim Irsay: $2.7 Billion Net Worth
Team: Indianapolis Colts
Owner since: 1997
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $2.9 billion
Robert Irsay bought the Colts for $14 million in 1972, and his son, Jim, spent his childhood with the team, living with them in the summer and traveling with them on the team bus as a kid. A college football player himself, Jim Irsay worked various jobs for the Colts for his entire life, including ticket sales and public relations. When the elder Irsay died in 1997, Jim Irsay became the sole owner and led Indy to a successful run that included a Super Bowl. He is now worth $2.7 billion.
Gayle Benson: $2.8 Billion Net Worth
Team: New Orleans Saints
Owner since: 2018
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $2.5 billion
Gayle Benson inherited not just the Saints, but also the New Orleans Pelicans, when her husband, wealthy businessman Tom Benson, passed away in 2018. He purchased the team in 1985 for $70.2 million. Gayle Benson, Tom Benson’s third wife, is worth $2.8 billion.
Robert Wood Johnson IV: $3.5 Billion Net Worth
Team: New York Jets
Owner since: 2000
How much they purchased the team for: $635 million
How much the team is worth: $3.5 billion
Despite being perennially and predictably terrible, the Jets are consistently one of the 10 most valuable teams in the NFL. Their owner, Woody Johnson, is worth $3.5 billion, and he served as ambassador to Great Britain from 2017-2020. Most of his money is tied up in the Jets, but he’s not a self-made man by any means. He’s the most famous of the heirs of Robert Wood Johnson, who founded Johnson & Johnson in 1886.
Denise York and Family: $3.5 Billion Net Worth
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Owner since: 2001
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $3.8 billion
The 49ers are the No. 5 most valuable team in the NFL, and the family of Denise York owns 90% of it. Her father, construction giant Edward DeBartolo Sr., bought the team for $13 million in 1977. The wife of pathologist John York, Denise gained control of the 49ers from her brother, who owned the team for 23 years before running into legal trouble. Her family is worth $3.5 billion.
Janice McNair: $4 Billion Net Worth
Team: Houston Texans
Owner since: 2018
How much they purchased the team for: Inherited
How much the team is worth: $3.3 billion
When Robert McNair died in 2018, his widow, Janice McNair, inherited her late husband’s 80% stake in the 32nd and most recent expansion team to enter the NFL. Robert paid $600 million for the Houston Texans after selling his power generator company Cogen Technologies to energy firm (and soon-to-be criminal enterprise) Enron in 1999. Janice McNair is worth $4 billion.
Stephen Bisciotti: $4 Billion Net Worth
Team: Baltimore Ravens
Owner since: 2004
How much they purchased the team for: $600 million
How much the team is worth: $2.98 billion
Stephen Bisciotti, who was raised by a single mother in Baltimore, started the staffing firm Allegis Group with his cousin Jim Davis — also now a billionaire — in a basement in 1983. Today, Bisciotti is worth $4 billion and owns the Ravens, who won a Super Bowl most recently in 2013. In 2018, Allegis Group did $13.6 billion in revenue.
Terrence and Kim Pegula: $4.6 Billion Net Worth
Team: Buffalo Bills
Owner since: 2014
How much they purchased the team for: $1.4 billion
How much the team is worth: $2.1 billion
Fracking magnate Terrence Pegula, along with his wife, Kim, have an estimated net worth of $4.6 billion — but it wasn’t always that way. He founded his energy company, East Resources, in 1983 with a $7,500 loan. In 2010, he sold East Resources to the Royal Dutch Shell company for $4.7 billion. The undisputed monarchs of Buffalo sports, the Pegulas also own the Buffalo Sabres NHL team.
Arthur Blank: $4 Billion Net Worth
Team: Atlanta Falcons
Owner since: 2002
How much they purchased the team for: $545 million
How much the team is worth: $2.9 billion
If you’ve ever shopped at Home Depot, you’ve contributed to the $4 billion fortune of Arthur Blank. He co-founded the hardware giant with Bernie Marcus in 1978, became one of the richest people in the world, and stepped down as Home Depot co-chairman in 2001, a year before buying the Falcons. In 2012, he signed the Giving Pledge and vowed to donate the majority of his wealth to charity.
Robert Kraft: $6.2 Billion Net Worth
Team: New England Patriots
Owner since: 1994
How much they purchased the team for: $172 million
How much the team is worth: $4.4 billion
As a child, Robert Kraft sold newspapers outside of the former Braves Stadium in Boston. He began amassing his $6.2 billion fortune through a successful packaging and paper business and went on to assemble a sporting empire that now includes stakes in the UFC and the New England Revolution MLS soccer club. The jewel in his crown, however, is the six-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, which was the greatest dynasty in football history before finally missing the playoffs last season.
Stephen M. Ross: $7.7 Billion Net Worth
Team: Miami Dolphins
Owner since: 2008
How much they purchased the team for: $1.1 billion
How much the team is worth: $2.9 billion
Tax-attorney-turned-real-estate-developer Stephen M. Ross amassed a $7.7 billion fortune, in part, through his Related Co. real estate firm. It’s responsible for $60 billion in property development and acquisition, including Manhattan’s Hudson Yards, which opened to the public in 2019. Ross also owns major stakes in a variety of restaurant chains, SoulCycle and Equinox Fitness.
Shahid Khan: $9 Billion Net Worth
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Owner since: 2011
How much they purchased the team for: $770 million
How much the team is worth: $2.5 billion
A self-made man now worth $9 billion, Shahid Khan is an engineer by trade. In 1980, he bought Flex-N-Gate, an auto parts supplier, from his former employer. He then put his engineering background to work in designing a hugely successful one-piece truck bumper, and in the ensuing decades, he grew his business to include 66 plants run by 24,000 employees.
Stanley Kroenke: $7.7 Billion Net Worth
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Owner since: 2010
How much they purchased the team for: $750 million
How much the team is worth: $4 billion
Real estate powerbroker Stanley Kroenke is worth $7.7 billion, much of which can be credited to the 30 million square feet of mostly commercial real estate in his bulging portfolio. Kroenke boasts a title coveted by the elite since the founding of America — landowner. He personally owns more than 2 million acres of ranches in the U.S. and Canada. A major sports mogul, his holdings are not limited to the Rams. He also owns the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Rapids and the Arsenal soccer club in Britain.
Jerry Jones: $8.5 Billion Net Worth
Team: Dallas Cowboys
Owner since: 1989
How much they purchased the team for: $150 million
How much the team is worth: $5.7 billion
Jerry Jones, who is worth $8.8 billion, has both football and business baked into his DNA. He originally made his money as a successful oil wildcatter, but before that, he served as co-captain of the University of Arkansas’ 1964 national championship football team. Although they haven’t played in a Super Bowl since the 1995 season, the Cowboys are the most valuable team in not just the NFL, but in all sports, by a mile — the next-most-valuable team, the New York Yankees, is worth 20% less. All of this happened under the unprecedented stewardship of Jones, who revolutionized the modern NFL and changed how it’s marketed, sold, merchandized and contracted to the media.
David Tepper: $12 Billion Net Worth
Team: Carolina Panthers
Owner since: 2018
How much they purchased the team for: $2.3 billion
How much the team is worth: $2.6 billion
Widely hailed as the greatest hedge fund manager of his generation, David Tepper made a lot of money for his clients — and himself. His net worth is estimated to be $12 billion, making him the richest individual NFL owner by a longshot. A former Goldman Sachs junk bond manager, Tepper’s Appaloosa Management fund oversees $5.6 billion in assets — small potatoes compared to the $20 billion it managed at its peak.
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George Malone contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: To discover the 25 richest NFL owners, GOBankingRates sourced every NFL team’s ownership from Forbes “Sports Money: 2020 NFL Valuations”. Once the 32 owners were identified, GOBankingRates used Forbes “The World’s Real-time Billionaires” and CelebrityNetWorth.com’s data to find each owners (1) net worth. GOBankingRates also found each team’s (2) value; (3) year purchased; and (4) price paid. All data was collected and is up to date as of March 31, 2021.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The 25 Richest NFL Team Owners
