Richest NFL Owners

The NFL has a ton of money running through it and that has only increased over the past 20 years. Not only do the teams make incredible amounts of money annually, but the league’s franchise owners are extremely wealthy as it is. But which team has the richest owner? Well, there’s a clear answer, and it’s a new kid on the block, so to speak.

What follows is a look at the NFL’s 10 richest owners. Just want to caveat this by saying the world of estimated net worth is always shifting. This is the best we could do with the available information.

S. Robson Walton (or Rob), is a member of the Walton family, of Walmart fame. In the summer of 2022 he bought the Broncos from the estate of the late Pat Bowlen for $4.65 billion. It was a drop in the bucket for good old Rob. At last check, Walton was worth an estimated $63.4 billion. He’s by far the richest NFL owner.

Tepper is the founder of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund that exploded in the early 2000s to earn him almost unimaginable wealth. Tepper bought the Panthers from Jerry Richardson in May of 2018 for $2.2 billion. While the team has had virtually no success on the field since Tepper took over, it’s not for a lack of money. The 66-year-old is worth an estimated $20.6 billion.

When Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died in 2018, his sister Jody became executor of his estate. A businesswoman, entrepreneur and philanthropist in her own right, Jody Allen now controls the Seahawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Sounders among many other pieces of her brother’s trust. That trust currently has an estimated value of around $20.3 billion.

While Clark Hunt is the chairman and CEO of the Chiefs, the franchise is actually owned by the entire Hunt family. Lamar Hunt owned the team after he used inherited oil wealth to help found the American Football League. He first owned the Dallas Texans before moving the team to Kansas City and rebranded them in 1963. When Hunt died in 2006, control of the team passed to his family, which currently has an estimated net worth of $15.5 billion.

Kroenke is also part of the Walton family through his wife Ann Walton Kroenke. The pair married in 1974 and Kroenke founded the real estate development from the Kroenke Group in 1983. In 1999, he founded Kroenke Sports & Entertainment which owns Ball Arena in Denver. He owns the two teams that play there, the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche. He also owns the Colorado Rapids and Arsenal. After years of being a minority owner of the St. Louis Rams, he purchased the rest of the team in 2010. The NFL made him transfer ownership of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his wife. He then slowly engineered the franchise’s move to Los Angeles, where he all but single-handedly paid for the construction of SoFi Stadium. At present, Kroenke is worth $15.7 billion.

You knew Jones would be on this list somewhere. Jones made his fortune by started Jones Oil and Land Lease out of Arkansas. Eventually he made enough money to purchase the Cowboys from Bum Bright for $140 million in 1989. It was a pretty good deal when you realize the franchise is now worth around $9 billion. Jones himself has only gotten wealthier and is currently worth an estimated $13.8 billion.

Khan is the owner of Flex-N-Gate and Bumper Works, which supplies bumpers to the Big Three automakers. The international automotive parts supplier is one of the biggest in the U.S. That has made Khan a ton of money. He bought the Jaguars in 2011 for $770 million. The franchise is now worth an estimated $4 billion. Nice purchase. He also owns Fulham F.C. and All Elite Wrestling, which is run by his son Tony. In all, Khan is estimated to be worth $11.6 billion.

Kraft founded International Forest Products in 1972 after taking over the Rand-Whitney Group in 1968. He combined the two companies to make up the largest privately held paper and packaging companies in the United States. He purchased the Patriots for $172 million in 1994. It was a good investment, seeing as how the Pats are currently worth an estimated $6.7 billion. Kraft himself is worth $11.1 billion.

The Johnson family of Johnson & Johnson fame, purchased the Jets in 2000. Brothers Woody and Christopher Johnson run the team and while their finances are technically separate, the family’s wealth is estimated to be at a combined $10.7 billion. The former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Woody Johnson is worth an estimated $3.2 billion on his own.

Ross was a tax attorney prior to founding Related Companies, a real estate development firm, in 1972. The firm’s real estate profile is extensive, and the company has since diversified and now owns brands like Equinox Fitness Clubs and SoulCycle. Ross purchased 50 percent of the Dolphins for $550 million in 2008, then bought an additional 45 percent of the team, with the total price coming out to $1.1 billion. Ross is currently estimated to be worth $10.1 billion.