Changing of the Guard: NFL Ownership
If the Denver Broncos' $4.65 billion sale to Walmart heir Rob Walton proves anything, it's that NFL ownership changes are both big news and big business. In the NFL, handing down the team due to age or someone passing away is inevitable, considering individuals in a family lineage own a majority of teams.
A unique component of NFL ownership is that prospective changes in the ownership need to be voted on by the other owners. Bleacher Report states that, in essence, “a new owner is petitioning 31 other individuals for inclusion into one of the world's most exclusive clubs.”
There are eight NFL teams whose sole owners are 75 years old or older: Atlanta Falcons (Arthur Blank, 79), Chicago Bears (Virginia Halas McCaskey, 99), Cincinnati Bengals (Mike Brown, 87), Dallas Cowboys (Jerry Jones, 79), Los Angeles Rams (Stan Kroenke, 75), Miami Dolphins (Stephen Ross, 82), New England Patriots (Robert Kraft, 81), and New Orleans Saints (Gayle Benson, 75).
That list doesn’t even include the Seattle Seahawks, who have had sale rumors swirling, even as recently as this summer. In Bloomberg ‘Business of Sports,’ Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said that there would be a few teams for sale, including “Seattle -- with Paul Allen, my friend, unfortunately, passing away and that team is in a trust [. It’s] going to become available I’d imagine in the 2024 range” (Bloomberg).
With the age of owners and the teams like the Seattle Seahawks potentially up for sale, this places the NFL in a unique position – the sale of multiple NFL teams simultaneously.
The sale of two NFL teams in the same year hasn’t happened since 2012, when the Jacksonville Jaguars sold to Shahid Khan and the Cleveland Browns sold to Jimmy Haslam.
But now the NFL, its owners, and the fans face the possibility of a deluge of NFL sales within a short time period.
The most important thing for the NFL, in general, but especially right now, is the avoidance of chaos.
Jerry Jones was quoted in 2014 saying: “They can’t have chaos among ownership. I can’t, the Cowboys can’t afford chaos because it impacts us all. The league has every right to demand it. They are diligent about it. It’s huge as to the financial aspects, the financial consequences, the tax consequences, how it can impact fans and the league” (Washington Post).