If you’ve spent any amount of time looking at how much the rich and powerful own and control our day-to-day lives, then you’re not going to be surprised to see some of the same names on this list. Our favorite sports teams are not immune from the whims of the obscenely wealthy, being transferred from city to city, people fired and hired on a dime, and decisions being made for personal reasons that aren’t in the best interest of the team or the fans. Sports teams, especially NFL teams, have become a jewel of pride in the crowns of the ultra-wealthy, but who are the wealthiest owners in the NFL?
For this list, we looked at the public records of each NFL team and found the richest ten owners today. All these data are current as of 2024. These are the richest NFL team owners.
Why Are We Talking About This?
There’s not much everyday people can do to combat the power of the ultra-wealthy. If they decide to destroy, move, or alter your favorite sports team, there’s nothing you can do, but it is still interesting to learn about who controls your weekend, and when they lose, you can always pretend to yell at them on the TV.
#10 Stephen Ross
- Team: Miami Dolphins
- Worth: $10.1 billion
Stephen Ross founded his company Related Companies in 1972. He owns more than $60 billion in real estate around the country, significantly contributing to the cost of living for Americans. His company is the biggest owner of luxury rental properties with more than 40,000 units and also owns Equinox Fitness Clubs, SoulCycle, and many restaurants.
Ross also owns the Hard Rock Stadium, where the Miami Dolphins play, and the Miami International Autodrome which is an F1 racing circuit. He owns several other sports companies through his other business, RSE Ventures.
#9 Robert Kraft
- Team: New England Patriots
- Worth: $11.1 billion
Robert Kraft is the CEO of Kraft Group, a massive holding company that has significant assets in packaging, sports, entertainment, paper, private equity, and yes, real estate, of course. He has owned the New England Patriots since 1994 and also owns the New England Revolution, an MLS team, and Boston Uprising, an e-sports team, and other sports franchises. Under his ownership, the New England Patriots became one of the most valuable NFL teams in the league’s history, with a value of more than $7 billion.
#8 Shahid Khan
- Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
- Worth: $12.2 billion
Khan is the owner of motor vehicle component company, Flex-N-Gate, along with Fulham. F.C., All Elite Wrestling, and more. He is the richest auto-parts businessman and the richest person from Pakistan.
Khan bought the Jacksonville Jaguars in November of 2011 for $770 million which made him the first person of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team. He moved to the United States when he was 16 in 1967 and bought Flex-N-Gate in 1980, turning it into the 7th largest automotive parts company in America.
#7 Jerry Jones
- Team: Dallas Cowboys
- Worth: $13.8 billion
Jerry Jones began his career right out of college as the executive vice president of his father’s insurance company. He also borrowed a million dollars from the Teamsters Union to start a chain of restaurants, which failed and again borrowed more money from the union to start his oil and gas exploration company, Jones Oil and Land Lease.
He bought the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million, and remains a controversial figure for Cowboys fans as he has fired several people the fans of the team liked, and was even named the least-favorite sports personality in 2003 by Sports Illustrated. He was also one of the key people involved in getting the St. Louis Rams to move to Los Angeles.
#6 Johnson Family
Team: New York Jets
Worth: $16 billion
Brothers Woody and Christopher Johnson are co-owners of the New York Jets. Woody bought the team back in 2000 for $635 million, the highest amount paid for a team up until that point. They are both the heirs to the Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) company’s pharmaceutical fortunes.
Woody served as the U.S. am ambassador to the United Kingdom under President Donald Trump as a reward for his generous monetary donations to his campaign and public support.
#5 Stan Kroenke
- Team: Los Angeles Rams
- Worth: $16.2 billion
Stan Kroenke’s company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, also owns Arsenal F.C., Arsenal W.F.C., the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth, Los Angeles Gladiators, and the Los Angeles Guerillas. He is married to Ann Walton Kroenke who is part of the Walton family and heiress to the Walmart (NYSE:WMT) family fortune. He didn’t have any significant business success before marrying Walton in 1974, and his subsequent business ventures were, of course, focused on buying up real estate.
Kroenke is responsible for moving the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles and trying to end the European soccer system.
#4 Jody Allen and the Paul G. Allen Trust
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
- Worth: $20.3 billion
Paul Allen was one of the original co-founders of Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) and Jo Lynn “Jody” Allen is his sister. She served as the CEO of Paul’s investment company Vulcan Inc. Paul passed away in 2018 so Jody became the sole trustee of his estate.
Jody now owns the Portland Trail Blazers, the Seattle Sounders FC, and the Octopus super-yacht along with the Seahawks. She is the president of Vulcan Productions and has producer credits for dozens of films and documentaries.
She has been accused by five of her past security guards of sexual harassment.
#3 David Tepper
- Team: Carolina Panthers
- Worth: $20.6 billion
David Tepper is the founder and current president of Appaloosa Management, a massive hedge fund company based in Florida. He also owns the Charlotte FC.
He was given the world’s largest paycheck for a hedge fund manager, with a value of $2.2 billion, in 2012, and was the third highest-earning hedge fund manager in 2018. In 2009, his company made $7 billion total, and more than $4 billion of that revenue went straight to his pockets.
Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018 for $2.2 billion. He has been described as one of the worst owners in the NFL with a 31-68 record and blazing through six head coaches since 2018.
#2 Hunt Family
- Team: Kansas City Chiefs
- Worth: $24.8 billion
The Hunt Family are the heirs of the Hunt Oil Company, Hunt Energy, and Hunt Petroleum family fortune.
The Kansas City Chiefs was actually founded by Lamar Hunt in 1959 and owned the team until he died in 2006. Hunt also founded the American Football League after the NFL said no to his request to create a team in Dallas. The original name of the team was the Dallas Texans before he relocated them to Kansas City in 1963. It is now represented by his son Clark Hunt.
#1 Rob Walton
- Team: Denver Broncos
- Worth: $77.4 billion
Samuel Robson “Rob” Walton, our second Walton family member mentioned on this list, is an heir to the Walmart fortune. He served as the chairman of Walmart from 1992 until 2015. He sits around the 16th richest person on the planet.
Walton bought the Denver Broncos in 2022 for $4.65 billion, though his ownership has yet to make any significant impact on the franchise as they remain a losing team and have not had any championship opportunities for years.
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