Wealthiest NFL Owners 鈥� 2025
January 21, 2025
Sports fandom these days can be an ethical minefield. For example: should we continue to tune in to college sports when the athletes aren鈥檛 compensated for their labor despite generating massive revenues for their schools and the NCAA? Should we continue to watch the NFL in spite of ? And to stay on the NFL鈥攕hould we continue to support our favorite teams, knowing the richest/wealthiest NFL owners are billionaires?
The fact that so many pro sports franchises are owned by billionaires is, for me, a source of mental discomfort. I鈥檓 anti-billionaire. My number one reason for thinking it should be against the law to hoard that kind of wealth? It鈥檚 undemocratic. Billionaires鈥� inordinate wealth gives them inordinate sway over our political system, and, by extension, the American public. But when Steve Cohen, a multi-billionaire investor who鈥檚 been in , bought the New York Mets in 2020, I was thrilled. And I was thrilled because he promised to spend his oodles of hedge fund money on my favorite team. He signed Francisco Lindor to a $341 million contract; Max Scherzer he signed to a record-breaking 2-year, $87 million deal; he gave Justin Verlander the same deal that Scherzer got; and in December 2024 he doled out more than to have Juan Soto playing in Queens for the next 15 years. I celebrated all these moves. Apparently, I don鈥檛 care that much about parity and the uneven distribution of wealth if it means that my team is signing superstars.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
So back to the wealthiest NFL owners. Mets owner Steve Cohen, with a reported , is the wealthiest owner in Major League Baseball. But billionaire owners are not a rarity in the NFL. The United States of America is . That鈥檚 bad news for the average American citizen. But if one of those billionaires happens to own your favorite team鈥攚ell, who can blame you for rooting for them? Check out the list of the wealthiest NFL owners below.
Wealthiest NFL Owners 鈥� 2025
听32) Green Bay Packers 鈥� Green Bay Packers Inc.
听The Packers aren鈥檛 owned by an individual or ownership group. Rather, the Packers are owned by Green Bay Packers Inc., a publicly held nonprofit made up of more than 500,000 shareholders. No single shareholder is allowed to hold more than 200,000 shares, or around 4% of the total shares. The Packers are the only NFL team that鈥檚 publicly owned, and they鈥檙e the only sports franchise in the country that鈥檚 a nonprofit organization.
In 2022, the Packers鈥� reported revenue was $610 million.
听31) Art Rooney II, Pittsburgh Steelers – $1.2 billion
听The Rooneys are NFL-franchise founders. Art Rooney II is the grandson of Art Rooney, Sr., who founded the Pittsburgh Steelers all the way back in 1933. The Rooney family has maintained ownership of the Steelers since then, and over the years their wealth has exploded in tandem with NFL team values.
Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
30) Zygi Wilf, Minnesota Vikings – $1.3 billion
Real estate mogul Zygi Wilf has been chairman and co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings since 2005, when he and five other partners purchased the team from Red McCombs for around $600 million. Since then, the value of franchise has skyrocketed. In 2020, .
听29) Michael Bidwill, Arizona Cardinals – $1.4 billion
听The Bidwill family has owned the Arizona Cardinals for three generations. Charles Bidwill acquired the then-Chicago Cardinals in 1933 for a sum of $50,000. Charles died in 1947, and his wife Violet retained ownership of the team until her death in 1962, when Charles and Violet鈥檚 sons Charles Jr. and Bill inherited the team. Bill was sole owner of the team from 1972 to his death in 2019, at which point his son Michael took over. Bidwill鈥檚 net worth of $1.4 billion is very much attributable to the valuation of the Cardinals, which, since 1933, has ballooned to an estimated $4.3 billion.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
听28) Virginia Halas McCaskey, Chicago Bears – $1.7 billion
Virginia Halas McCaskey has been the principal owner of the Chicago Bears since 1983. She鈥檚 the daughter of George Halas, the founder of the Bears and a co-founder of the NFL.
George Halas鈥檚 career spanned decades. In addition to being owner and executive, he played for the Bears and served as their head coach at various points in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. In 1963, Halas became a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame鈥檚 inaugural class. When he died in 1983, Virginia inherited ownership of the team.
27) Amy Adams Strunk, Tennessee Titans – $2 billion
When Bud Adams, co-founder and longtime owner of the then-Houston Oilers, died in 2013, his daughter Amy took over. Her net worth currently stands at $2 billion, but not all of that is traceable to the rise in value of the Titans. Prior to establishing the Oilers franchise, Bud Adams made a fortune in the petroleum industry.
26) Sheila Ford Hamp, Detroit Lions – $2 billion
听The Ford family鈥檚 ownership of the Detroit Lions goes back to 1963, when William Clay Ford became sole owner of the franchise. When William died in 2014, his wife Martha assumed control, and in 2020, William and Martha鈥檚 daughter Sheila took over. As of August 2024, the Lions are valued at almost $5 billion.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
25) Mark Davis, Las Vegas Raiders – $2.3 billion
Mark Davis became the controlling owner of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2011; he inherited the team from his dad, Al, who owned and ran the Raiders since 1972. Mark Davis is also the owner of the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA.
24) Dean Spanos, Los Angeles Chargers 鈥� $2.4 billion
The Spanos鈥檚 family net worth is estimated to be around $2.4 billion. The original source of their immense wealth was real estate: Alex Spanos amassed a fortune as a real estate developer in the 1960s. In 1984, he purchased the then-San Diego Chargers for $48.3 million. The Chargers, who鈥檝e since moved back to LA, are now worth an estimated $5.1 billion. When Alex died in 2018, his son Dean became the controlling owner of the franchise.
Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
23) John Mara, New York Giants – $3 billion
22) Steve Tisch, New York Giants – $1.6 billion
Tim Mara founded the New York Giants in 1925, and the Maras were majority owners of the team until 1991, when half the family鈥檚 interest was sold to Preston Robert Tisch. Tisch鈥檚 son Steve has been co-owner of the team since 2005.
听21) Mike Brown, Cincinnati Bengals 鈥� $3.9 billion
听Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown鈥檚 net worth is currently estimated to be around $4 billion. Mike Brown is the son of Paul Brown, who founded the Bengals as an AFL team in 1968.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
20) Jim Irsay, Indianapolis Colts – $4.8 billion
听Another billionaire NFL owner that inherited the team, Jim Irsay is the son of Robert Irsay, who made a fortune in the heating and air conditioning business and acquired the Colts in 1972. The cost of the franchise back then? $12 million. Not exactly a piddling sum, but nothing compared to the billions the Colts are worth now.
19) Jeffrey Lurie, Philadelphia Eagles – $5.3 billion
听The Lurie family鈥檚 immense wealth is traceable to the now-defunct General Cinema company, a chain of drive-in movie theaters which was once one of the biggest such chains in America. Jeffrey Lurie joined the family company in 1983 and two years later founded his own production company, Chestnut Hill Productions. In 1994, Lurie bought the Eagles for $195 million ($190 million of which was a loan from the Bank of Boston). Since then, the Eagles have become the 8th-highest valued franchise in the NFL, with an estimated value of $6.6 billion. Lurie, for his part, has become one of the richest people in the country. Last year, he came in at number 247 on the .
Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
18) Cal McNair, Houston Texans – $6.2 billion
听Cal McNair鈥檚 father, Bob, was responsible for bringing an NFL team back to Houston (the Houston Oilers left the city in 1996 to become the Tennessee Titans). Bob was awarded the 32nd NFL franchise in 1999, and the Houston Texans played their first game in 2002. When Bob died in 2018, his wife Janice took over as owner, and in March 2024, Cal succeeded his mom.
17) Gayle Benson, New Orleans Saints – $6.6 billion
When Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, died in 2018, his wife Gayle inherited both teams. Gayle, with an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion, is one of the wealthiest NFL owners and .
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
16) Denise DeBartolo York, San Francisco 49ers – $6.7 billion
Denise DeBartolo York and her family have a more than 90% ownership stake in the San Francisco 49ers, one of the highest-valued teams in the NFL. Edward DeBartolo, Denise鈥檚 father, amassed a fortune as a construction contractor and bought the 49ers in 1977.
15) Steve Bisciotti, Baltimore Ravens – $7.5 billion
As of the writing of this article, Steve Bisciotti is . Bisciotti, unlike a number of the wealthiest NFL owners, did not inherit his team. He made millions as one of the founders of Allegis Group, a talent management firm, and first became involved with the Ravens in 2000, when he bought a 49% ownership stake in the team. A few years later, in 2004, he became the Ravens鈥� majority owner.
Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
14) Terry Pegula, Buffalo Bills – $7.6 billion
Terry Pegula, one of the wealthiest NFL owners, made his billions in the natural gas industry. More specifically, he made it in fracking, the widespread but controversial technique of blasting rock formations with highly pressurized water and chemicals to release the oil and natural gas trapped inside. In addition to being a climate killer, fracking poses serious risks to our personal health. A showed that children living near fracking sites are two to three times more likely to contract leukemia than are children who live further away.
But hey, the natural gas industry and its many advocates insist that fracking is a safe and well-regulated practice, and besides, business is booming. Terry Pegula made more than $4 billion when he sold off assets of his drilling business to Shell. In 2014, he bought the Buffalo Bills for $1.4 billion in cash. Pegula is also the owner of the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL.
Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
13) Glazer Family, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $10 billion
听The Glazer family owes its astronomical wealth to shopping mall magnate Malcolm Glazer. In 1995, Glazer bought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for $192 million, whose value has meanwhile increased to almost $4 billion. In addition to being some of the wealthiest NFL owners, the Glazers also hold a significant ownership stake of Premier League soccer team Manchester United.
12) Robert Kraft, New England Patriots – $11.8 billion
听Billionaire businessperson Robert Kraft has owned the Patriots since 1994, when he bought the team for $172 million. You鈥檝e probably noticed the trend by now, but since then, the value of the Patriots has skyrocketed. They鈥檙e the 3rd most valuable team in the NFL, worth around $7.4 billion.
Kraft鈥檚 tenure as owner coincided with the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era of Patriots football, wherein they amassed six Super Bowl championships between the years 2002 and 2019.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
11) Josh Harris, Washington Commanders – $12.4 billion
听Josh Harris is one of our . Harris co-founded the asset management firm Apollo Global Management, Inc., which currently holds more than half a trillion dollars in assets. Apollo Global is known as an 鈥渁lternative asset鈥� asset management firm, which means that they invest in and control, amongst other things, essential infrastructure like roads, highways, power plants, waste treatment facilities, and hospitals.
In 2023, Harris led a group that purchased the Washington Commanders for a sum of $6.05 billion, the largest price tag for a team in sports history.
10) Shahid Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars – $13.3 billion
听Shahid Khan鈥檚 wealth has its roots in Flex-N-Gate, a car parts manufacturing company. Khan worked at the company when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois; when he graduated from college, he was made the company鈥檚 engineering director. Just a couple years later, he bought the company from his former boss. And since then, Flex-N-Gate has become one of the biggest automotive parts manufacturers in the United States.
It’s a cool story鈥擪han immigrated to the US when he was 16鈥攂ut at the end of the day he鈥檚 just your standard-issue billionaire. The United Auto Workers union a Khan-owned company of releasing toxic industrial waste into the environment and exposing workers to dangerous chemicals like chromium and chromic acid.
In 2012, he became owner of the Jaguars for a sum of $770 million.
9) Jimmy Haslam, Cleveland Browns – $14.4 billion
The Haslam family鈥檚 enormous net worth is attributable to James Haslam II, who founded the Pilot chain of gas stations and convenience stores in 1958. Haslam鈥檚 son Jimmy joined the family business in 1976, and in 1996 he was named president. In 2012, he purchased the Cleveland Browns from then-owner Randy Lerner for $1 billion.
8) Woody Johnson, New York Jets – $16 billion
Woody Johnson, one of the wealthiest NFL owners, is great-grandson to one of the founding brothers of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical empire. Johnson purchased the Jets in 2000 for a sum of $635 million.
7) Stan Kroenke, Los Angeles Rams – $16.9 billion
Stan Kroenke married Ann Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune, in 1973. In 1991, he founded THF Realty, which now owns a real estate portfolio of over $2 billion.
Kroenke is the owner of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, the holding company for the LA Rams, soccer club Arsenal F.C., the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and more.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
6) Stephen Ross, Miami Dolphins – $17 billion
Real estate developer Stephen Ross is one of the wealthiest NFL owners with a net worth of $17 billion. In 2008, he bought a 50% stake in the Dolphins franchise, and a year later he became the Dolphins鈥� primary owner, purchasing another 45% of the team. The total value of his acquisition was $1.1 billion.
5) Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys – $17.3 billion
One of the most iconic and successful owners in the NFL, Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys for a total of $140 million back in 1989. Since then, the Cowboys have become the most valuable franchise in the NFL, with a net worth reported to be around $10 billion.
4) Jody Allen, Seattle Seahawks – $20.3 billion
Jody Allen owns the Seahawks by way of her older brother Paul, who purchased the team in 1997. And if you鈥檙e wondering why her brother Paul had that kind of cash handy, it鈥檚 because he founded Microsoft along with Bill Gates in 1975. When Paul died, Jody took over control of several of his holdings, among them the Seattle Seahawks.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners (Continued)
3) David Tepper, Carolina Panthers – $21.3 billion
David Tepper made his billions as founder of global hedge fund Appaloosa Management. He bought the Carolina Panthers in 2018 for $2.2 billion, but his tenure as owner hasn鈥檛 exactly been stellar. The Panthers are 31-68 since he took over as owner, and they鈥檝e gone through six different head coaches as well.
2) Hunt Family, Kansas City Chiefs – $24.8 billion
The Hunts are oil tycoons. In 1936, H.L. Hunt started Hunt Oil after he acquired the rights to large swaths of the East Texas Oil Field, one of the largest sources of oil in the world. One of H.L. Hunt鈥檚 sons, Lamar, used his inherited oil money to acquire the then-Dallas Texans in 1960. Three years later, the Texas relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, and changed their name to the Chiefs.
1) Rob Walton, Denver Broncos – $110.4 billion
Robson Walton is the son of Walmart and Sam鈥檚 Club founder Sam Walton. Born into one of the biggest business empires in history, he鈥檚 got an estimated net worth of $110.4 billion, which makes him the 13th richest person in the world.
In 2022, a Walton-led ownership group purchased the Broncos for a sum of $4.65 billion.
Richest/Wealthiest NFL Owners – Additional Resources
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