How Many Black Owners Are There in the NFL?

There are currently no black majority owners in the NFL. The league currently has two minority owners, both of whom are white.

Black Owners in the NFL

There are currently only three black majority owners in the NFL. Those three men are Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stephen Bisciotti of the Baltimore Ravens, and Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns. In addition, there are three more black minority owners in the NFL. Robert Livingston of the Green Bay Packers, Ronald Burkle of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, of the New York Jets.

The number of black NFL owners

There are currently three black owners in the NFL: Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stephen Bisciotti of the Baltimore Ravens, and Amy Adams Strunk of the Tennessee Titans. All three have been majority owners of their respective teams since 2012.

In 2020, Kim Pegula became the first woman of color to become majority owner of an NFL team when she and her husband Terry Pegula boughtout the remaining shares of the Buffalo Bills. Prior to that, there had been two female co-owners in league history: Susie Wenger of the Green Bay Packers and Martha Firestone Ford of the Detroit Lions.

The percentage of black NFL ownership

As of 2019, there are two black majority owners in the NFL: Shahid Khan, of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Denise DeBartolo York, co-owner of the San Francisco 49ers. These are the only two black majority owners in NFL history. There have been a handful of other minority ownership groups with a black member, but never a majority.

Why There Are So Few Black Owners in the NFL

The lack of black NFL ownership

In a league where two-thirds of the players are black, only two of the 32 NFL teams have a black owner. That’s right, less than 10% of NFL teams are owned by blacks, despite the fact that African Americans make up a significant portion of the league’s fan base. Why is this the case?

There are a number of factors that contribute to the lack of black ownership in the NFL. For one, the cost of buying an NFL team is prohibitively expensive for all but a select few. The average price of an NFL team is currently $1.4 billion, and the wealthiest African Americans simply don’t have that kind of money. Additionally, most NFL teams are family-owned businesses that are passed down from generation to generation, so it’s difficult for outsiders to buy their way in.

Another reason there are so few black owners in the NFL is that many African Americans don’t have the same social and business networks as their white counterparts. This can make it harder for blacks to raise capital and find investors when they do have the opportunity to buy an NFL team.

Finally, racism still exists in America, and some believe that it prevents blacks from getting ahead in business ventures like owning an NFL team. While it’s true that racism has played a role in preventing blacks from achieving economic parity with whites in this country, it’s also worth noting that there are currently two black majority-owners in the NBA (Michael Jordan and Robert Johnson) and one in Major League Baseball (Theo Epstein). So while racism may be a factor, it’s certainly not the only reason why there are so few black owners in the NFL.

The reasons for the lack of black NFL ownership

The question of why there are so few black NFL owners is a complicated one. There are a number of factors that have contributed to the lack of black ownership in the NFL, including the historical exclusion of blacks from football ownership, the socioeconomic disparities between blacks and whites, and the NFL’s own governance structures.

The historical exclusion of blacks from football ownership is perhaps the most significant factor in the lack of black ownership in the NFL today. Blacks were systematically excluded from owning NFL teams until the late 1960s, when Edward Debartolo, Sr. became the first black owner in league history. This exclusion meant that blacks were effectively prevented from accumulation of wealth through NFL team ownership for generations.

The socioeconomic disparities between blacks and whites are another significant factor in the lack of black ownership in the NFL. Blacks have a median household income that is just 60% of whites’ median household income, and they are also less likely to have inherited wealth or other sources of wealth to draw upon to purchase an NFL team.

Finally, the NFL’s own governance structures make it difficult for blacks (or any non-white group) to become majority owners of teams. The league has a long-standing rule that requires a supermajority (three-fourths) vote of team owners in order to approve any change to league rules, meaning that any proposal to increase black ownership would need support from at least 24 of 32 owners—a highly unlikely prospect given the current composition of ownership.

The Impact of Black Ownership in the NFL

In the NFL, there are currently three black majority-owned teams. The Miami Dolphins, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Carolina Panthers. There are also several teams with black minority ownership, including the San Francisco ers, the Seattle Seahawks, the Detroit Lions, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In this article, we will be discussing the impact of black ownership in the NFL.

The impact of black ownership on the NFL

In October of this year, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that, for the first time in league history, minorities make up more than half of the league’s ownership. That number is up from 8 percent in 2009. This is a direct result of the NFL’s Diversity Initiative, which was put into place in 2003 to increase minority ownership in the league.

The initiative has been successful in other ways as well. In addition to the increase in black ownership, there has also been an increase in the number of minority head coaches and general managers. The initiative has also led to an increase in the number of black players in the league.

While the initiative has been successful in increasing minority ownership, there is still work to be done. As Goodell pointed out, there are no African American majority owners and only one Hispanic owner. There are also no female owners.

The lack of diversity among NFL owners is not unique to the league. In fact, it mirrors a trend that can be seen across all major professional sports leagues in America. Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League all have fewer than 10 percent minority owners.

The trend can also be seen in college sports. According to a report from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, only 3 percent of college athletic directors are black and only 4 percent are Hispanic or Latino. Women make up just 22 percent of all college athletic directors.

While the NFL’s Diversity Initiative has been successful in increasing minority ownership, there is still work to be done to ensure that all Americans have an equal opportunity to own a team.

The impact of black ownership on the NFL’s image

The number of black NFL owners increased from one to two in 2020 with the purchase of the Minnesota Vikings by hedge fund manager Zachary Bartelton. This move not only doubled the NFL’s black ownership, but also made Bartelton the league’s youngest owner at 38 years old. Although the NFL has seen a slow and steady increase in black ownership over the past few decades, African Americans still make up a small minority of team owners.

While some have praised the NFL for its recent efforts to diversify its ownership, others have critiqued the league for not doing enough to promote racial equality. Some believe that having more black owners would help to improve the NFL’s image, which has been tarnished by a series of scandals involving players accused of domestic violence, child abuse, and other crimes.

There is no denying that the NFL has a long way to go when it comes to racial equality. However, the increase in black ownership is a step in the right direction and could be an important factor in helping to repair the league’s image.