Here is a list of the current National Football League owners and how they became wealthy.
American League Owners
Baltimore Ravens: Steve Bisciotti - At 23, he and his cousin Jim Davis started Aerotek, a staffing company in the aerospace and technology sectors. Running the company out of a basement office with secondhand equipment, Bisciotti and Davis produced $1.5 million in sales in the first year. Aerotek grew into the Allegis Group, which is now the third largest staffing firm in the United States and 6th in the world.
Buffalo Bills: Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. - Wilson grew up in Detroit, Michigan, graduated from the University of Virginia and attended the University of Michigan law school. He is a World War II veteran. After the war ended, he took over the successful insurance business of his father and invested in Michigan area mines and factories. He eventually purchased several manufacturing outlets, construction firms, and radio stations, and founded Ralph Wilson Industries.
Cincinnati Bengals: Michael "Mike" Brown - son of Paul Brown who started the team.
Cleveland Browns: Randolph D. Lerner (1.6 billion) - son of Al Lerner founder of MBNA.
Denver Broncos: Patrick Dennis Bowlen - Pat's father, Paul D. Bowlen, became a millionaire in the Canadian oil business, founding Regent Oil as a wildcatter. Bowlen became wealthy in his own right by becoming a successful lawyer in Edmonton, Alberta. He also worked as an executive for his father's company and as a real estate developer.
Houston Texans: Robert C. (Bob) McNair - He founded cogeneration company Cogen Technologies, which was sold in 1999 to Enron. McNair now serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The McNair Group, a financial and real estate firm.
Indianapolis Colts: James (Jim) Irsay - Jim Irsay was 12 years old when his father Robert Irsay purchased the Baltimore Colts.
Jacksonville Jaguars: J. Wayne Weaver - He built the wealth that allowed him to purchase the expansion franchise as the owner of the shoe store chains Shoe Carnival and Nine West.
Kansas City Chiefs: Clark K. Hunt - He is the son of Lamar Hunt and the grandson of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt.
Miami Dolphins: Harry Wayne Huizenga - Starting with a single garbage truck in 1968, he grew Waste Management Inc. Huizenga aggressively purchased independent trash collectors, and by the time he took the company public in 1972, he had made the acquisition of 133 small time haulers. By 1983, he had transformed Waste Management into the largest waste disposal company in the United States.
New England Patriots: Robert K. Kraft - The Founder, Chairman & CEO of the Kraft Group, a diversified holding company with assets in paper & packaging, sports & entertainment, real estate development and a private equity portfolio. Kraft is also the largest shareholder of Carmel Container Systems LTD, Israel's largest packaging plant. He began his career with the Rand-Whitney Group, a packaging company he later acquired. He still serves as this company's chairman.
New York Jets: Robert Wood Johnson IV - The son of Robert Wood Johnson III and an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune.
Oakland Raiders: Allen "Al" Davis - Davis ruthlessly attempted to gain power within the club. By 1976, he had assumed the shares of two of his co-owners and was firmly in control of the team. Since then, no other partners have had any decision making power within the franchise. It is estimated that Davis currently owns about 70% of the club.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Daniel M. Rooney - He is the son of team founder and former owner Art Rooney. Art Rooney founded the team.
San Diego Chargers: Alexander Gus Spanos - An American real estate developer and self-made billionaire. Spanos began life working as a baker, but when the business nearly went bankrupt, he decided to go in a different direction. In 1951, he used an $800 loan to purchase a small trucking company, which he turned into a successful enterprise. Spanos used his profits to invest in real estate, and by 1960, he had an incorporated business.
Tennessee Titans: Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams, Jr. - He originally made his fortune in the petroleum business and is current chairman of Adams Resources, a wholesale supplier of oil and natural gas. He also owns car several franchises (Lincoln - Mercury).
National League Owners
Arizona Cardinals: William V. "Bill" Bidwill, Sr. - He inherited the team from his parents. His father, A successful businessman in Chicago, was also vice president of the Chicago Bears. His wealth helped Bears owner George Halas keep the team in 1932. A year later, with Halas' encouragement, he bought the Cardinals from then-owner David Jones.
Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Blank - one of the co-founders of Home Depot.
Carolina Panthers: Jerry Richardson - Richardson founded (with Charles J. Bradshaw) Spartan Foods, a food-service company which became the second (and largest) franchisee of Hardee's.
Chicago Bears: Virginia Halas McCaskey - Inherited from father George Halas.
Dallas Cowboys: Jerrel Wayne "Jerry" Jones - After several unsuccessful business ventures (including passing up the opportunity to purchase the AFL's San Diego Chargers in 1967 for the asking price of $5.8 million), he began an oil and gas exploration business in Oklahoma, Jones Oil and Land Lease, which became phenomenally successful. His company, a private family asset, currently does natural resource prospecting.
Detroit Lions: William Clay Ford - The youngest of the four children of Edsel Ford and a grandchild of Henry Ford.
Green Bay Packers: 111,967 stockholders (Green Bay Packers Foundation)
Minnesota Vikings: Zygmunt "Zygi" Wilf - After a brief stint as used car salesmen, Joseph and his brother Harry Wilf began purchasing apartment buildings and renting units. Eventually, the brothers began building single-family homes and founded Garden Homes. A successful real estate developer, his two main family-run businesses, Garden Homes and Garden Commercial Properties, have constructed some 25,000 homes in 39 states across the country since 1955; the two entities and their subsidiaries own and manage 25 million square feet in retail and business property.
New Orleans Saints: Tom/Rita Benson - He is also the owner of several automobile dealerships in the Greater New Orleans and San Antonio areas. Benson became wealthy by investing profits from his automobile dealerships in local banks. He eventually purchased several small Southern banks and formed Benson Financial, which he sold to Wells Fargo in 1996.
New York Giants: John Mara (50%) and Steve Tisch (50%) - John Mara is the oldest son of former New York Football Giants owner Wellington Mara. After working as an attorney for some time, Mara joined the family franchise in 1991 and served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer until his father's death. Steve Tisch is the son of former Giants co-owner Bob Tisch. Tisch's father was the chairman, and, with his brother Laurence, part owner of the Loews Corporation.
Philadelphia Eagles: Jeffrey Lurie - Lurie served as the president and chief executive officer of Chestnut Hill Productions, a Los Angeles-based film company, which he founded in 1985. His corporation did not make any blockbuster hits, but became successful supervising production of films made by much larger companies. The company also produces television commercials.
San Francisco 49ers: Marie Denise DeBartolo York - She joined the family business, The DeBartolo Corporation, and became its executive vice president. In 1994, following her father's death, she became company chairman. In 2000, DeBartolo York and her husband John York gained control of the 49ers and other sporting assets from her brother, Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. Her father, Edward John DeBartolo Sr., was an American businessman who is best remembered as the father of the American shopping mall.
Seattle Seahawks: Paul Gardner Allen - With Bill Gates, he formed Microsoft.
St. Louis Rams: Georgia Frontiere and Stan Kroenke - Frontiere inherited ownership of the team after the death of her husband. Stan's wealth is estimated to be about $2.1 billion and based primarily on real estate. He founded the Kroenke Group in 1983, a real estate development firm that has constructed numerous shopping centers and apartment buildings. His wife, Anne Walton, is a Wal-Mart heir.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Malcolm Irving Glazer - Glazer was the fifth of seven children He inherited his father's wholesale jewelry business. The business first expanded into property, buying several mobile home (or "trailer") parks in the 1970s, mainly in the Florida area. He went on to become president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation[3], a U.S. holding company for his various business interests, such as food processing, marine supplies, health care, real estate, energy exploration, and broadcasting.
Washington Redskins: Daniel M. "Dan" Snyder - Snyder and his sister Michelle founded a marketing company, Snyder Communications Inc. (SNC). Their activities were mainly outsourced marketing services, such as Direct marketing, database marketing, proprietary product sampling, sponsored information display in prime locations, call centers, field sales. Snyder’s investment vehicle, Red Zone, began a proxy battle to gain control of Six Flags Inc.s board of directors. Snyder is the Chairman of the Six Flags board.