The 20 Richest NFL Owners in 2022
Did you know that the National Football League (NFL) is the most profitable sports league? The NFL generates around $13 billion in revenue, with 32 teams receiving a record $309 million each hence it is the most profitable among the sports leagues.
As the dominant force in the American sports scene and the most popular entertainment sports league across all seasons, the sport has not only attracted fans and supporters from all over the world. Still, it has also become one of the world’s most profitable sports.
Team ownership in the NFL is a guaranteed bet for short and long-term success. One notable aspect that you might not be aware of is that the team’s profit keeps appreciating over time, making the team owners richer with each passing year. The 32 teams that make up the NFL are owned by entities, individuals, and families. The National Football League earns a substantial portion of its money from sponsorships and media rights, which brought in approximately $1.62 billion last season.
The NFL is not owned by a specific individual or entity. Instead, the NFL is owned by all 32 teams in the league. As a result, the NFL team owners own the league and its brand. Thirty-one of these clubs are owned by individuals, with the exception of the Green Bay Packers, which is owned collectively by shareholders.
The NFL franchise owners have become some of the world’s wealthiest individuals, with a consistent income of billions of dollars. The majority of the National Football League’s most affluent owners are Americans, which is not surprising given that football is an American sport. Here is a look at the 20 richest NFL owners’ net worth in 2022.
20. Brown Family – $2.1 billion
The Brown Family owns a $2.1 billion ownership in the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. The Cincinnati Bengals are a part of the American Football Conference’s AFC North division in the National Football League. Paul Patriarch Brown brought the Cincinnati Bengals to Cincinnati in 1967, and since then, the team has never changed its owners. The Cincinnati Bengals are currently run and owned by Michael Brown, Paul Brown’s son. Following his father’s death in 1991, Michael Brown took over control of the team.
19. Jeffrey Lurie – $3.5 billion
Jeffrey Lurie is well known as the owner and CEO of the National Football League team, the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition to this, Lurie is also a very talented motion picture producer, actor, and entrepreneur. Jeffrey Lurie has always been a fan of all the Boston sports teams. The former social policy professor’s current net worth is $3.5 billion. Lurie and his mother committed their stock in the family trust as security for a loan that allowed him to purchase the Philadelphia Eagles for $185 million in 1994. The Philadelphia Eagles are now worth $3.8 billion on the open market.
18. James Irsay – $3.5 billion
James Irsay made his fortune after his father, Robert, died in 1997 and left him the business and money. Irsay also inherited the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. His father, Robert, was a Chicago-based industrialist. He amassed an estimated fortune of more than $150 million through multiple profitable heating and air-conditioning firms as well as a sheet-metal company. As the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay’s net worth is $3.5 billion as of November 2021, at the age of 62. In 2022, his net worth is expected to be the same as it is now. That net worth places Irsay at number 333 on the Forbes 400 list for 2021 and 1008 on the Forbes Billionaires list for 2021.
17. Gayle Benson – $3.8 billion
Gayle Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, is placed 778th on Forbes’ list of billionaires, with a net worth of $3.8 billion, an increase from $2.9 billion in 2019. In addition to owning the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans, Gayle Benson worked as an interior designer in the 1970s and created an interior design firm in 2014. Aside from interior design and NFL ownership, Gayle Benson and her husband, Thomas Bird, were interested in business acquisition and renovation.
16. Denise York & Family – $4 billion
Denise York’s family controls more than 90% of the San Francisco 49ers, the NFL’s fifth-most valued franchise and the 2019 Super Bowl runner-up. John York and Denise DeBartolo York are the two co-chairs of the 49ers. York’s father, Edward Debartolo Sr., who died in 1994, purchased the franchise for $13 million in 1977. The net worth of Denise York and his family is estimated to be 4 billion USD.
15. Dan Snyder – $4 billion
Daniel Snyder made his fortune as a college dropout with his marketing company, Snyder Communications. Snyder sold the company to French firm Havas for $2.1 billion in stock in 2000 after taking it public in 1996. Daniel Snydercurrently owns the Washington Football Team, previously the Washington Redskins of the NFL pro football team, which he purchased for 750 million USD in 1999. He also owns Red Zebra Broadcasting and the Dick Clark television production firm.
14. Janice McNair – $4.2 billion
Janice McNair, Robert McNair’s widow, inherited her late husband’s 80 percent share in the Houston Texans after he died in 2018. In 1999, Robert McNair made his initial wealth when he sold his power generator firm, Cogen Technologies, to Enron for $1.5 billion. With the profits of Cogen’s sale, he spent $600 million that year for the 32nd NFL franchise, the Houston Texans, in which Janice McNair now owns an 80 percent ownership. With a net worth of $4.2 billion, Janice McNair is among the wealthiest female NFL owners.
13. Glazer Family – $4.7 billion
The Glazers made their riches in commercial real estate and sports team ownership. The Glazers are best known for purchasing the National Football League franchise Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Manchester United, a famous Premier League club, the biggest football team in the UK. Malcolm Glazer bought the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1995 for 192 million USD, and in 2003, he began purchasing Manchester United shares, and by the end of 2005, he had acquired full ownership of the club. The Glazers have a $4.7 billion net worth.
12. Steve Bisciotti – $5.6 billion
Steve Bisciotti, then 23, co-founded the staffing firm Aerotek with his cousin Jim Davis. Aerotek earned $1.5 million in sales in its first year and is now valued at $12 billion, making it one of the world’s largest privately-held staffing organizations. NFL owners approved the sale of 49 percent of the Baltimore Ravens to Bisciotti in 2000. In the agreement, he had the option to purchase the remaining 51 percent of the team for $325 million from Art Modell in 2004, the same year the NFL approved his purchase of the controlling stake. Steve Bisciotti now owns the Baltimore Ravens.
11. Terrence and Kim Pegula – $5.7 billion
Terrence Michael Pegula is a multibillionaire businessman and petroleum engineer from the United States. He has accumulated most of his wealth through gas and oil. He is the owner of Pegula Entertainment and Sports. Terrence Pegula is the sole owner of one of the National Hockey League teams, the Buffalo Sabres. Terrence’s wife, Kim Pegula, owns the Buffalo Bills of the NFL. Terrence and Kim Pegula both bought the Buffalo Bills of the NFL in 2014 for $ 1.4 billion. Terrence Pegula, together with his wife, Kim, have a shared net worth of $5.7 billion.
10. Haslam Family – $6 billion
The Haslam family paid an estimated amount of $1 billion to purchase one of the NFL’s teams, the Cleveland Browns football team, in the year 2012. With a net worth of $6 billion, the Haslams are one of America’s wealthiest families and one of Tennessee’s most powerful families. Aside from owning the Cleveland Browns football team, the family also owns 67 percent of Knoxville’s $31 billion sales company, Pilot Flying J.
9. Arthur Blank – $7.5 billion
After being suspended from their jobs at a local hardware store, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank collaborated in coming up with their own business, the Home Depot, in 1978. Blank quit as co-founder and co-chairman of the Home Depot in the year 2001 and bought the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons for $545 million in 2002; his ownership is currently worth $1.8 billion. Blank also owns a number of enterprises, including Atlanta United, three ranches in Montana, the Atlanta Falcons, and the countrywide PGA TOUR Superstore.
8. Shahid Khan – $8.2 billion
Shahid Khan, an engineer by training, purchased and launched the auto parts firm, Flex-N-Gate from his old employer in 1980. His one-piece truck bumper design was the foundation of his success; the company today has 69 plants worldwide and over 26,000 people. Shahid Khan is one of the 2755 billionaires in the world. He is the owner of one of the National Football League’s teams, the Jacksonville Jaguars, which he purchased in 2012. Later on, in 2013, Shahid Khan again bought Fulham F.C., an English Football League Championship team.
7. Stephen Ross – $8.3 billion
In addition to being a sports team owner, Stephen M. Ross is also a philanthropist and a real estate developer. Ross is the chairman, majority owner, and shareholder of The Related Companies, a global real estate development corporation he created in 1972. Stephen Ross has made much of his wealth through his businesses. In 2008, Ross bought 50 percent of the Miami Dolphins franchise. Today, Stephen Ross’s net worth is currently $ 8.3 billion, and he is the sole owner of the Miami Dolphins of the NFL.
6. Robert Kraft – $8.3 billion
Robert Kraft purchased the New England Patriots for $172 million in 1994; the franchise is currently valued at over $5 billion and has six Super Bowl rings. Kraft, who peddled newspapers outside the old Braves Stadium in Boston as a child, built his early fortune in the paper business and packaging. Robert Kraft is the Chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group. As of the year 2022, Robert Kraft’s approximated net worth is 8.3 million USD.
5. Jerry Jones – $10.2 billion
The Dallas Cowboys, the most valued franchise in the National Football League, is owned by Jerry Jones. Today’s value of the Dallas Cowboys is $302.6 million. According to Forbes, the Cowboys are now the richest club in the NFL, with $980 million in sales and $425 million in operating profits in the year 2020. According to Forbes’ most recent ranking, Dallas Cowboys’ total value is $6.5 billion. He purchased the franchise in the year 1989 for $150 million after making a fortune in gas and oil in Texas, US. Jones also owns Comstock Resources, Papa John’s franchises, real estate, and hospitality management.
4. Stanley Kroenke – $10.7 billion
Stan Kroenke built a fortune in property investment. In 1983, he established the Kroenke Group, a real estate development corporation that erected shopping malls and apartment buildings. He got much wealthier when his wife Ann inherited a stake in Walmart following her father’s death, James Walton, in 1995. One random fact about Stanley is that he is one of the most wealthy men in sports, with a net worth of $10.7 billion. He owns the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League and English Premier League team Arsenal..
3. Johnson Family – $10.7 billion
With a fortune estimated at $10.7 billion, the Johnson family is among the wealthiest in America. From a humble background as a flooring company, the family has grown and diversified into a wide range of household cleaning supplies and services. SC Johnson & Johnson, a cleaning goods company with anticipated revenues of $10.5 billion, is owned by the Johnson family. The Johnson Family also owns the New York Jets of the National Football League.
2. The Hunt Family – $15.5 billion
The Hunt family currently owns the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, FC Dallas, and a stake in the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. Aside from sports team ownership, the Hunt family is also involved in energy, such as oil, as well as real estate and property business. The family has a $15.5 billion fortune.
1. David Alan Tepper – $ 15.8 billion
After the Paul Allen Trust, Tepper is among the most successful investors and one of the wealthiest NFL owners of his generation. He is a renowned hedge fund manager. David Alan Tepper is the owner of the Carolina Panthers franchise of the National Football League. He bought the team in 2018 for about 2.3 billion USD.
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