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)