Are There Any Black NFL Team Owners?
Yes, there are a few black NFL team owners. These include Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Robert McNair of the Houston Texans, and Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers.
Introduction
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league. The NFL is the highest level of professional football in the United States, and is considered to be the top professional American football league in the world.
History of Black NFL Team Owners
The National Football League (NFL) has a long history of racially discriminatory practices. The league was founded in 1920, and for its first quarter-century existence, it had zero black head coaches and zero black assistant coaches. In 1946, the Los Angeles Rams became the first NFL team to sign a black player, Kenny Washington. It wasn’t until 1962 that the Washington Redskins finally followed suit, signing wide receiver Bobby Mitchell. All three of these black pioneer players had their careers ended prematurely by injuries.
While there were no black head coaches or assistant coaches in the NFL prior to 1965, there were a few black men who owned NFL teams during that time period. In 1933, Art Rooney Sr., the owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, hired Pittsburgh Pirates baseball star Harold Bradley as a minority shareholder and business partner. Although Bradley’s share of the team was only 10 percent, he was given full voting rights and a seat on the board of directors.
In 1934, George Preston Marshall, the owner of the Washington Redskins, also admitted a black man into his ownership group. His name was Matthew A. Bullock Sr., and he owned a laundry service business in Chicago. He eventually became one of Marshall’s closest confidants and advisers.
The first ever majority-black owned NFL team occurred in 1949 when C.L. Werner purchased 60 percent ownership stake of the Indianapolis Colts franchise. According to an ESPN report, “Werner surrounded himself with white business associates and installed a white front office.”
In 1953, combined with several other investors – both white and black – Bill Veeck purchased 52 percent stake of the Cleveland Browns franchise from Arthur McBride for $600,000 dollars. Although Veeck was technically not the majority owner because he didn’t have more than 50 percent stake in the team, he had full control over all personnel decisions because McBride granted him that authority in their purchase agreement
Current Black NFL Team Owners
There are currently three black NFL team owners: Shahid Khan, Michael Bidwill, and Jeffrey Lurie. Shahid Khan is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Michael Bidwill is the owner of the Arizona Cardinals, and Jeffrey Lurie is the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles. Although there are only three black owners currently, this number has been growing in recent years. In 2018, Steve Bisciotti became the first black majority owner when he bought an additional $1 billion worth of shares in the Baltimore Ravens.
Conclusion
After doing some research, it appears that there are no black NFL team owners at this time. There has been one in the past, but he has since sold his team. It’s possible that this could change in the future, but for now, it seems that black ownership of NFL teams is nonexistent.
