Just about every day, in one way or another, we’re reminded that the NFL crushes the rest of the American sporting world in terms of popularity.
The Forbes’ billionaire list is the latest way of proving it.
Forbes released its list of the world’s billionaires this week (2,781 in all), and the sporting world is well represented. And the NFL is represented far more than any other sport.
The top eight billionaires by net worth among those in the sporting world are or were involved in NFL ownership, and NFL ownership figures account for 12 of the top 14 spots.
It’s good to be in the NFL business.
Stan Kroenke leads NFL billionaires
The richest person within the sporting world is Stan Kroenke, whose net worth is $16.2 billion according to Forbes. Kroenke owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, who play in the most expensive stadium in the world, $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment owns teams in other sports leagues, most notably the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Kroenke, who is married to Walmart heiress Ann Walton, made a fortune in the real estate world as well. Forbes listed Kroenke as the 115th richest person in the world.
Among sports figures, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is second on the list. Laugh all you want at Jones’ inability to get the Cowboys back to another Super Bowl — they haven’t been since the end of the 1995 season — but he is dominating the business world. Jones is worth $13.8 billion according to Forbes. Always remember that Jones bought the Cowboys for $140 million back in 1989, one of the great business transactions ever.
The rest of the top eight billionaires in the sporting world according to Forbes, along with their ties to the NFL: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Baltimore Ravens owner Stephen Bisciotti, New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson, San Francisco 49ers owner Denise York and family, former Houston Texans owner Janice McNair (who officially transferred principal ownership of the team to her son Cal McNair in late March). Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, at No. 9, broke the NFL’s run of top billionaires.
The NFL run started again after No. 10 Arturo Moreno, owner of the Los Angeles Angels, with a notorious former NFL owner on the list.
Other NFL owners on billionaire list
Daniel Snyder, former owner of the Washington Commanders, made the list at No. 13 among all sports figures. That might seem surprising because Snyder got out of NFL ownership as controversial headlines piled up, but he did just sell the Commanders to Josh Harris’ group for $6.05 billion last year. Snyder’s net worth is listed by Forbes at $4.4 billion. For the many Washington fans who came to dislike Snyder tremendously for running their favorite team into the ground, it might be disheartening to see him on the list of the world’s billionaires.
The other NFL owners in the top 15 are Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and family, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Right after Johnson, in the No. 15 spot among sports figures, is Michael Jordan at $3.2 billion.
Other NFL owners such as Mark Davis of the Las Vegas Raiders, Amy Adams Strunk of the Tennessee Titans, the Glazer family with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Hunt family with the Kansas City Chiefs made the billionaire list. So did current athletes Tiger Woods ($1.3 billion) and LeBron James ($1.2 billion).
The NFL crushes every other American sport in TV ratings, overall interest and revenue. There’s a good reason the price of NFL teams keeps going up, in the rare case one is up for sale.
Source Agencies
