10 of The NFL’s Top Billionaire Owners

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Every year Forbes releases a list of the wealthiest people in the world, and this year the list included 7 NFL owners. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the men and women who own the teams America loves are some of the wealthiest in the world; most everyone loves Football and the NFL is a wealthy entity.  But to be a successful NFL owner one can’t simply just be good at business.

Granted the gentlemen on this list come from all walks of life, it takes a special kind of owner to make an NFL team that is not only profitable but has a chance at success.  While not all of these NFL teams are successful at the moment, their owners do pretty well.  Here are the top 10 NFL billionaire owners.

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10. Jim Irsay – 1.5 Billion

Robert Irsay bought the Indianapolis Colts in 1972 for $15 million, per Forbes, which lists son Jim in our 10 spot on this list. Robert moved the team to Indianapolis in 1984. At age 37, Jim became the youngest team owner and CEO in the NFL. In recent years, Jim Irsay has been struggling with addiction. In March of 2014, Irsay was arrested and charged with a DWI and 4 felony counts of possession of a controlled substance.

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9. Robert McNair – 1.8 Billion

McNair was the Founder of Cogen Technologies and sold his firm to Enron for $1.5 billion in cash and stock at peak of tech bubble; immediately sold his stock and avoided Enron bankruptcy.  He used the money to bring football back to Houston in 2002 when the NFL expanded. Today he has a majority stake in the Houston Texans.  McNair quickly turned the expansion Texans into one of the NFL’s most valuable teams, thanks mainly to a lucrative naming rights deal with Reliant Energy.   Unfortunately the Texans didn’t fair out to well this past season in the NFL.  Hopefully Mr. McNair can right the ship.  Having nearly $2 Billion is a good start.

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8.  Stephen Bisciotti – $2.1 Billion

Stephen Bisciotti has a net worth of “only” $2.1 billion. His wealth comes from being the owner of the Baltimore Ravens. However, he’s also the founder of a technical staffing company by the name of Allegis Group. This company owns stock in some of the biggest corporations in the world, which helps Bisciotti rank this high on the list. He’s the second youngest NFL team owner, with a 49 percent ownership in the Ravens since 2000.

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7.  Robert Kraft – $2.9 Billion

Kraft is the CEO of The Kraft Group, which has significant philanthropic efforts. He’s also the owner of the New England Patriots. His control in the team has led significantly to his place on the list of wealthiest NFL owners, though his company has also helped. Known for his charitable efforts, Kraft used his New England Patriots Charitable Foundation to match $100,000 in donations that were made on behalf of the Boston Marathon bombing victims. His net worth is $2.9 billion.

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6. Jerry Jones – $3 Billion

As the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jones makes it onto the list of richest NFL team owners with a whopping $3 billion net worth. After he made it big in the oil business in the 70s, he spent $140 million on the Cowboys back in 1989 (makes you wonder what the team is worth now, doesn’t it?). He’s often in the forefront of controversy in the wide world of sports, but apparently controversy pays off when you’re the owner of the Dallas Cowboys.

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5. Shahid Khan – $3.8 Billion

If only he’d recruit Tim Tebow, we Florida residents would make him even richer. Shahid Khan is, obviously, the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars as well as a few other sports teams and an automobile parts manufacturing company. This Pakistan-native is worth $3.8 billion. Khan tried unsuccessfully to purchase the St. Louis Rams back in 2010. After being denied that ownership, he managed to turn 2011 into a better year for his acquisitions, taking on ownership of the Jags.

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4. Malcolm Glazer – $4.5 Billion

If you recognize the name Malcolm Glazer, it’s because he’s got several roles as the owner of a few major brands, which is why he’s worth more than $4.5 billion. He’s the CEO of First Allied Corporation as well as the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s even credited for taking the team in 1995 and reversing its fortune. He believes in giving back, which is why he’s also known for contributing heavily to his family’s Glazer Family Foundation Vision Program.

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3. Stephen Ross – $4.8 Billion

Worth more than $4.8 billion, he owns the Miami Dolphins (and I just want to take a second to point out that as a born and raised Florida girl, all three of our NFL teams’ owners are on the list of the top 7 richest NFL owners…it makes me proud). When Ross first purchased shares in the Dolphins back in 2008, he had only 50 percent ownership. However, he later purchased an addition 45 percent of the stake in the team. He’s also the founder of global real estate development firm The Related Companies and a graduate of the University of Michigan, who named its business school after him.

(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

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2. Stan Kroenke – $5.3 Billion

He’s not the richest man in the world, by any means, but Kroenke is certainly one of the richest owners of any NFL team in the country. With more than $5.3 billion to his name, the St. Louis Rams owner is also the owner of the Kroenke Sports Enterprise. Do you know what that means? It means he also has control over the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and the Colorada Mammoth. He’s married to Wal-Mart cofounder Bud Walton’s daughter, Ann, with whom he began his business in the 1970s.

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1. Paul Allen – $15 Billion

The Microsoft co-founder could conceivably own about a third of the NFL if he chose to but we’re pretty certain that he’s more than happy owning the current Super Bowl champs.

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Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.