I cheer for a couple of teams. My favorite, though, are the Carolina Panthers.
Except for their owner. I absolutely can’t stand the guy.
Fat schlub. Carpet bagger. Hedge fund manager. Arrogant. Clueless. Meddling.
Which got me wondering … How about those other owners? They’re certainly all rich. Could any of them possibly be as bad as him?
NOTE: Green Bay is a publicly-owned company. So, no owner! Unless, of course, you count these guys:
LA Rams – Stan Kroenke
- Source – real estate, marriage (Walton family)
- Net worth – $13B
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – baseball, basketball & track in high school
- Also owns – Arsenal, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche
- Scandals? – none
Chicago – George McCaskey
- Source – inheritance (sports)
- Tried to make it on his own? – assistant state attorney, journalist
- Net worth – $1.3B (family)
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – none
LA Chargers – Dean Spanos
- Source – inheritance (construction)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $2.7B
- Carpet bagger – Stockton
- Played sports? – football & golf in high school
- Scandals? – none
Denver – Rob Walton
- Source – Inheritance (retail)
- Tried to make it on his own? – maybe (joined law firm that represented family)
- Net worth – $115B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Oklahoma, Arkansas)
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – none
Tampa Bay – Joel Glazer
- Source – inheritance (multiple)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $10B (family)
- Carpet bagger – yes (NY)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Manchester United
- Scandals? – none
Houston – Cal McNair
- Source – inheritance (energy)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $3-4B
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – Div I football
- Scandals? – big game hunting
Atlanta – Arthur Blank
- Source – retail
- Net worth – $11B
- Carpet bagger – yes (NY)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Atlanta United (MLS)
- Scandals? – married & divorced 3 times
Buffalo – Terry Pegula
- Source – energy
- Net worth – $7B
- Carpet bagger – yes (PA)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Sabres (NHL)
- Scandals? – fracking
Baltimore – Steve Bisciotti
- Source – HR
- Net worth – $8B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Philadelphia)
- Played sports? – high school football
- Scandals? – class action lawsuit
Philadelphia – Jeffrey Lurie
- Source – inheritance (entertainment)
- Tried to make it on his own? – professor
- Net worth – $7.6B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Boston)
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – bankruptcy (family)
Jacksonville – Shahid Khan
- Source – auto parts
- Net worth – $13.3B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Pakistan, Illinois)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Fulham FC
- Scandals? – OSHA violations
New England – Robert Kraft
- Source – marriage (paper)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $11.1B
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – Div 1 tennis, football
- Also owns – NE Revolution (MLS)
- Scandals? – soliciting prostitution
Tennessee – Amy Adams Strunk
- Source – inheritance (oil)
- Tried to make it on her own? – no
- Net worth – $1.3B (family)
- Carpet bagger – yes (Texas)
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – fox hunting, family (suicide, fine for obscene gestures)
Cleveland – Jimmy Haslam
- Source – inheritance (energy), marriage (media)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $8.5B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Knoxville)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Columbus Crew (MLS)
- Scandals? – price-gouging during Katrina (family)
Pittsburgh – Art Rooney II
- Source – inheritance (sports)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $250M
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – high school football
- Scandals? – tax dodging, tolerance of negative off-field conduct (family)
Miami – Stephen Ross
- Source – real estate
- Net worth – $10.1B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Detroit)
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – lawsuit brought by former coach, fines for tampering
Dallas – Jerry Jones
- Source – inheritance (insurance)
- Tried to make it on his own? – failed Shakey’s Pizza franchisee, started own oil & hospitality companies
- Net worth – $19.5B
- Carpet bagger – yes (LA, Arkansas, Missouri)
- Played sports? – Div I football
- Scandals? – price gouging (oil) during Great Texas Freeze, multiple fines from NFL
NY Jets – Woody Johnson
- Source – inheritance (pharma)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $4.2B
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – IRS settlement, racism
Minnesota – Zygi Wilf
- Source – inheritance (R/E)
- Tried to make it on his own? – lawyer
- Net worth – $1.3B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Germany)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Orlando City (MLS)
- Scandals? – racketeering conviction
Carolina – David Tepper
- Source – hedge fund manager
- Net worth – $16.7B
- Carpet bagger – yes (Pittsburgh, NJ, Florida)
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Charlotte FC (MLS)
- Scandals? – fined for throwing a drink at a fan, welched out of a deal to build a practice facility, bankruptcy to get out of contract
New Orleans – Gayle Benson
- Source – marriage (auto dealerships)
- Net worth – $7.9B
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Pelicans (NBA)
- Scandals? – lawsuits about husband’s will, racial discrimination
Washington – Josh Harris
- Source – finance
- Net worth – $10B
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – Div I wrestling
- Also owns – Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Crystal Palace FC
- Scandals? – $30M settlement, racketeering lawsuit, involved in tanking for higher draft picks
Cincinnati – Mike Brown
- Source – inheritance (sports)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $2.1B
- Carpet bagger – sort of (Massillon OH)
- Played sports? – Div I football
- Scandals? – nepotism (family represents $50M of team payroll), forced players to sign loyalty clause (i.e., no disparaging comments in the press), tolerance of negative off-field conduct, strong-arm tactics to fund new stadium
KC – Clark Hunt
- Source – Inheritance (oil)
- Tried to make it on his own? – 2 years as investment banker, Goldman Sachs
- Net worth – $25B (family)
- Carpet bagger – yes (Texas)
- Played sports? – Div I soccer
- Also owns – FC Dallas (MLS)
- Scandals? – racketeering & fraud, illegal wiretapping (family)
With wife & daughter (both a Miss Kansas)
Las Vegas – Mark Davis
- Source – inheritance (sports)
- Tried to make it on his own? – no
- Net worth – $2.5B
- Carpet bagger – yes (NYC, Oakland)
- Played sports? - no
- Also owns – Las Vegas Aces (WNBA)
- Scandals? – SEC investigation, political corruption (family)
Seattle – Jody Allen
- Source – inheritance (tech)
- Tried to make it on own? – no
- Net worth – $20B+
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – no
- Also owns – Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle Sounders
- Scandals? – accused of sexual assault, bribery; settled out of court
Detroit – Sheila Ford Hamp
- Source – inheritance (auto)
- Tried to make it on her own? – no
- Net worth – $2B (family)
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – Div I tennis
- Scandals? – anti-semitism, collaborated with Nazis, union breaking (family)
NY Giants – John Mara
- Source – inheritance (illegal bookmaking)
- Tried to make it on his own? – lawyer
- Net worth – $500M
- Carpet bagger – no
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – illegal bookmaking (family)
Phoenix – Michael Bidwill
- Source – inheritance (legal)
- Tried to make it on his own? – 6 years as Federal prosecutor
- Net worth – $2.7B
- Carpet bagger – yes (St Louis)
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – accused of harassment, cheating, discrimination & defamation; ordered to pay $3M
SF – Jed York
- Source – inheritance (construction)
- Tried to make it on his own? – 1 year as analyst, Guggenheim Partners
- Net worth – $8B+ (family)
- Carpet bagger – yes (Ohio)
- Played sports? – high school baseball
- Also owns – Leeds United, Rangers FC
- Scandals? – $1M fine for bribery, sexual assault, SEC investigation(family)
Indianapolis – Carlie Irsay-Gordon
- Source – inheritance (HVAC)
- Tried to make it on her own? – no
- Net worth – $5.9B (family)
- Carpet bagger – yes (Dallas)
- Played sports? – no
- Scandals? – father Jim (drug addiction – multiple arrests, DUIs, overdose leading to death), grandfather Bob (denied being Jewish, fought own father over ownership of family company, family estrangement, racial discrimination, verbal abuse of coaches & players, absconding with team in the middle of the night)
