Odious NFL Owners – Analysis

In my last post, I looked at all 31 NFL owners to see, in detail, who might be possibly categorized as the worst. Now, let me tell ya, that was a lot of data. So, here is some of that information in a more digestible, summarized, graphical form.

Source of Income

Hard to believe, but did you know that over 75% of NFL owners inherited their wealth? Yup, not a lot of self-made men (or women) out there.

Of those who inherited, though, what percentage of them actually tried to make it on their own?

Once again, we’ve got a minority – 2/3 this time, - who did not. Note, though, that this covers quite a wide range of experience, from a year on Wall St. to starting multiple companies in unrelated industries.

Yup, that’s Jerry Jones (DAL)

Now, whether it was self-made or inherited, what was the particular industry where that income came from?

So, a lot of oil tycoons and developer types. Those that derive from sports, by the way, tend to represent the ancient families that actually started the NFL. In fact, a lot of those founders had been athletes themselves. 

George Halas (CHI)

Athletes

Which got me thinking, how many of the current owners actually played sports themselves?

Once again, it’s only a third. What’s surprising here, though, is that the number who played in college actually outnumber those who merely played in high school. Perhaps even more interesting, 4 of those owners – Jones (DAL), McNair (HOU), Kraft (NE) & Brown (CIN) – actually played D1 football. Now, that’s actually pretty impressive.

Yup, Robert Kraft!

Carpetbaggers

In addition to having played the game themselves, wouldn’t it be nice if the owners were locals too? I wonder how many were actually born and bred in the city where they would eventually own the local team?

Looks like we’ve got about 2/3 who came in from somewhere else. Most interestingly, would you believe that we have 2 – Wilf (MIN, Germany) & Khan (JAX, Pakistan) – who aren’t even native Americans?

Actually, that’s another Shahid Khan, a Pakistani actor

Other Teams

But back to sports … How many of these owners are real dabblers, rich enough to own more than one sports team?

It looks like we’ve got a little less than half who have so indulged. Our worst offenders – Kroenke (LAR) & Harris (WAS) – own 3 others. 

What’s really interesting here, though, is how popular soccer is, with 11 owners also purchasing teams playing that other brand of football. In fact, 4 of those teams are across the pond, in the English Premier League.

Manchester United, owned by the Glazers (TB)

Odious NFL Owners

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)

Too much data for you?  Check out the summary right here.

Cooperstown MIA

Congrats to Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran! Reading all about the latest Hall of Fame vote got me thinking about who else probably deserves to be in there.

Methodology

• On baseball-reference.com, generated a list sorted by career WAR
• Saw who still wasn’t in the Hall (no little † next to their name)
• Eliminated any cheaters (Rose, PED types)
• Eliminated any players who aren’t eligible yet (Pujols, Kershaw, Greinke …)
• Stopped at 10 (around 70 career WAR), where HofF membership really starts to tail off

#10.  Dwight Evans, OF

WAR:  67.2 / Pos: 128 / Comp: Don Drysdale

Decent offensive numbers – 385 HRs, 370 OBP, 1470 runs, 1384 RBIs – but nothing earth-shattering. Lead leaguer in 2 offensive categories (WAR & HRs), but 25 defensive ones. Superb right fielder in a very tough park (Fenway). 8-time Gold Glover & 3-time All Star. Poor postseason stats, including a 239 average over 113 at bats., though he did better in World Series & made a number of key defensive plays. Up 20 years, all but 1 with Boston. 

#9.  Kevin Brown, SP

WAR:  67.8 / Pos: 126 / Comp: Ernie Banks

Won only 211 games, but had a 594 winning percentage. Repeated the latter in postseason, where he went 6-2 in 8 series (but with only a 4.19 ERA). Up for 19 years, but played for 6 teams. 6-time ALL Star, leading league in WAR (2), ERA (2), WHIP (2), wins (1). Dings include a prickly personality (esp. with the media), ridiculously high paychecks (& subsequent expectations), contract disputes & a mention in the Mitchell Report.

#8.  Greg Nettles, 3B

WAR:  68 / Pos: 123 / Comp: Ryne Sandberg

A low lifetime average of 248, but with 390 HRs and over 1000 runs & RBIs. Siimlarly low average in postseason (225), over 200+ PAs. 6-time All Star & 2-time Gold Glover. Lead league offensively only 3 times (once in HR & twice in WAR), but 21 times in defensive stats. 22 years total, mostly with Yankees. Quiet, overshadowed by star teammates.

#7.  Kenny Lofton, OF

WAR:  68.4 / Pos: 120 / Comp: Edgar Martinez

A great career average (299) combined with incredible speed (622 SBs, 15th all time). Led league in SBs 5 times (all in a row). Only other league leaders were in WAR (1) & hits (1). 6-time All Star & 4-time Gold Glover. 17 years with 11 teams. Lots of postseason experience (not quite 400 ABs), but with so-so results (247 average).

He also was on an NCAA-winning Arizona basketball team

#6.  Rick Reuschel, SP

WAR:  69.5 / Pos: 107 / Comp: Tony Gwynn

Finished barely over 500, at 214-191. Limited postseason experience, with a 2-3 record & 5.85 ERA over 32 IPs. 3-time All Star & 2-time Gold Glover. Led league only twice, in WAR & WHIP. Control pitcher & inning-eater. Decent fielder, leading the league 11 times in various defensive categories. Decent hitter & baserunner. 19 years, mostly with Cubs. Quiet, unemotional & totally lacking in flash. Weighing over 230 lbs & known as “Big Daddy,” he simply did not look like a ballplayer. 

#5.  Bobby Grich, 2B

WAR:  71.1 / Pos: 97 / Comp: Johnny Mize

All-arounder with great glove. Finished with 266 average, 371 OBP, 224 HRs & 104 SBs. Led league in offensive stats only twice (in WAR & HRs), but in defensive stats 22 times. 6-time All Star & 4-time Gold Glover. Limited & poor postseason results – 182 average in 88 ABs. 17 years, split pretty evenly between Angles and Orioles.

#4.  Lou Whitaker, 2B

WAR:  75.1 / Pos: 85 / Comp: Reggie Jackson

Better than DP partner Alan Trammel (70.6 / 99). 19 years, all with Detroit. Career totals include 276 average, 244 HRs, 143 SBs, over 1000 runs & RBIs. Never led the league in any offensive stats, but did so 13 times in defensive ones. Rookie of the Year, 5-time All Star, 3-time Gold Glover. Good player at a weak position, with 4 Silver Slugger awards. 204 average in limited postseason (49 at bats). Quiet, private person who rarely spoke with the media.

Trammel, Whitaker

#3.  Bill Dahlen, SS

WAR:  75.2  / Pos: 83 / Comp: Johnny Bench

Super old-timer, playing between 1891 & 1911. That’s 21 years (with 4 teams). Had 548 SBs (28th all time), 1590 runs, 2461 hits & 1234 RBIs. Led league in offensive stats only once, in RBIs, but defensive stats 21 times. In only 1 postseason, where he went a woeful 0 for 15. A rowdy with a serious attitude problem, he was ejected 65 times and came to be known as “Bad Bill.” Fell just short on a Veterans Committee vote.

#2.  Jim McCormick, P

WAR:  76.2 / Pos: 78 / Comp: Molitor

Career goes even farther back, from 1878 to 1887. That’s only 10 years (but with 6 teams!). Finished 265-214, with a 2.43 ERA & 1.132 WHIP. 7-time league leader, including in WAR (2), wins (2), ERA (2) & WHIP (1). HoF stats are all above average. Rules of the time had him pitching from 50 feet, but forced him to pitch underhand. A notorious drinker. 

#1.  Curt Schilling

WAR:  79.5 / Pos: 68 / Comp: Joe DiMaggio

Yup, Joe DiMaggio. Only 216 wins, but with a great 597 percentage. Also finished with over 3000 K’s. 6-time league leader – wins (2), K’s (2), ERA (2). 6-time All Star. Excellent postseason stats – 11-2, with 2.23 ERA & 0.968 WHIP. 20 years with 5 different teams. Offseason antics – bankruptcy, far-right politics – have not helped his candidacy.

My Take

Well, it looks like a lot of these guys were nothing super-flashy. They tended to be league leaders only in defensive stats, as well as sporting low-key personalities. They were, however, steady performers across lengthy careers. Unfortunately, that may never get them in at this point.