They don’t get as much attention as coaches or players — but every successful or disastrous NFL franchise has one common denominator: Either steady ownership or dysfunctional and toxic ownership.
Five of the NFL’s most successful franchises can be traced back to one simple ownership change. On the flip side, five of the league’s worst teams saw their misfortunes begin when they went from one great owner to an awfully clueless one.
With that said, let’s dive into the five best ownership changes in NFL history — along with the five worst.
Best: Robert Kraft
James Orthwein purchased the New England Patriots from Victor Kiam in 1992, with the intention of moving them to his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri.
However, Robert Kraft was the owner of Foxboro Stadium and refused to let the Patriots out of their lease. Orthwein was thus handcuffed and quickly gave up on his goal, selling the Patriots to Kraft in 1994 for $172 million.
The Patriots reached Super Bowl 31 in 1996 — Kraft’s third year as owner — where they fell to the mighty Green Bay Packers. But Patriots fans didn’t have to weep for long, because the best under Kraft had yet to come.
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In an NFL-landscape-altering move, Kraft managed to hire Bill Belichick away from the archrival New York Jets in 2000. That same year, Belichick would use the No. 199 pick on some dude named Tom Brady.
19 years later, the Patriots were celebrating their sixth Super Bowl championship in the Brady-Belichick era under Kraft’s ownership. In less than two decades, Kraft oversaw the Patriots go from perennial letdowns to the new model American sports franchise.
From 2001 to 2019, the Patriots had all winning seasons, nine AFC Championship banners and those six shiny Lombardi Trophies. Without a doubt, it’s the greatest NFL ownership change of the Super Bowl era. The future Kraft statue that shall be placed right in front of Gillette Stadium is going to be appreciated by Patriots fans for decades to come
Worst: Dan Snyder
Snyder is one of the most pathetic, despicable, disgraceful and gutless people to have ever been involved in the NFL. We don’t even know where to start.
Unfortunately for Washington fans, Snyder was approved as the team’s new owner in 1999 when he bought the club for $800 million from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke.
Over Snyder’s 24 years as Washington’s owner, the team went 164-220-2. They qualified for the postseason six times and only won two playoff games — with the last postseason victory coming in the 2005 season.
Snyder’s ugly tenure as owner goes beyond what happened on the field. Countless employees endured disturbing cases of harassment, bullying and intimidation. Many former female employees and cheerleaders had awful experiences, some of which allegedly included Snyder.
Snyder also temporarily banned fan signs from FedExField and even sued an elderly lady who couldn’t afford to retain her season tickets any longer.
Every football fan, coach, player and employee league-wide finally got to celebrate when Snyder sold the club to a group led by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion in 2023. Hope the door didn’t hit you on the way out. Danny, we hardly knew ya
Best: Edward J. DeBartolo Jr.
Tony Morabito, the founder and original owner of the San Francisco 49ers, unexpectedly died on Oct. 27, 1957 while watching his team host the Chicago Bears.
The team was passed on to his widow, Josephine, and brother, Victor. Sadly, Victor also died in 1964, and his widow Jane helped Josephine run the operations. In 1977, the 49ers were sold to Edward J DeBartolo Sr. — who immediately put his 30-year-old son Eddie Jr. in charge.
Under DeBartolo Jr.’s ownership, the 49ers emerged as the golden NFL franchise. Franchise pillars Bill Walsh, Joe Montana, Ronnie Lott, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Charles Haley, Roger Craig and John Taylor led the 49ers to five Super Bowl championships between 1981 to 1994.
DeBartolo Jr. was renowned for being hands-off and spending all the money when necessary to sustain a winner. He was strongly admired and beloved by his players for running the organization like they were a family — not just some guys who made him rich.
Due to severe financial and legal problems, DeBartolo Jr. had to step down as 49ers owner. IN 2000, he handed the team over to his sister, Denise DeBartolo York — who co-owns the team with husband John York. Their son, Jed York, serves as the 49ers’ CEO.
In 2016, DeBartolo Jr. was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Worst: Shad Khan
The Jacksonville Jaguars entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1995, but it didn’t take them long to emerge as a powerhouse under first owner Wayne Weaver.
Jacksonville made the playoffs in four of their first five seasons, highlighted by appearances in the 1996 and 1999 AFC Championship Games. In all, the Jaguars made the playoffs six times under Weaver and achieved seven winning seasons.
But late in the 2011 season, Weaver sold the Jaguars to Shad Khan for $770 million. And with that, the rise to total irrelevance in Duval County had begun.
Since Khan’s first full year as the Jaguars’ owner in 2012, the team has gone through six head coaches. Yet Khan kept David Caldwell as his GM for eight years…and Caldwell’s record as an executive was 37-91.
Throw in the hundreds of millions he’s wasted in free agency, the Urban Meyer disaster and the fact the Jaguars made the postseason only twice over Khan’s first 11 seasons? Yep, you’ve got a disaster on your hands.
Khan’s a nice man who spends plenty with the goal to win — and he should be applauded for making EverBank Stadium a beautiful game-day experience with its giant screenboards and swimming pools.
But results are results. And the Jaguars have been nothing but a consistent laughingstock under Khan’s ownership.
Best: Jerry Jones
Love him or hate him, there’s no denying that Jerry Jones’ tenure as the Dallas Cowboys owner has carried way more good than bad.
In 1989, the wealthy Texas oil businessman purchased the Cowboys from H.R. “Bum” Bright for the bargain price of $150 million. Over three decades later, America’s Team is now valued at $9 billion. Well played, Jerry.
When Jones bought the club from Bright, Dallas had just suffered its third straight losing season. The once-proud franchise also hadn’t won a playoff game since 1982.
Jones made the bold decision to fire legendary head coach Tom Landry and replace him with Miami Hurricanes head coach Jimmy Johnson. Together, the two began a tear-it-all-down rebuild that saw the team net future cornerstones Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin through the draft.
The Cowboys won back-to-back Super Bowls in 1992 and 1993 under Johnson’s guidance. Though Jones controversially parted ways with Johnson after the second Super Bowl, the Cowboys cemented dynastic status by winning a third championship under new head coach Barry Switzer in the 1995 season.
Have the Cowboys grossly underachieved and choked since their last championship? Yes, but as a wise person once said, “Flags fly forever.” Jones took over a sinking Cowboys team and turned them into a dynasty — and they’re still a playoff contender every year.
Maybe you hate Jones as an owner now, but it’s impossible to argue that the organization changed for the worse once he purchased the club in 1989.
Worst: Jerry Wolman
Philadelphia Eagles fans oughta love Jeffrey Lurie for two reasons:
1) He oversaw the franchise’s first Super Bowl-winning season in 2017
2) He has provided much-needed stability since taking over as owner in 1994. The Eagles had SIX different principal owners clash co-owners from their inception in 1936 to 1993 before Lurie finally took over.
In 1963, wealthy property developer Jerry Wolman purchased the Eagles from James P. Clark and his group of investors known as “The Happy Hundred.” Under their 14-year ownership, the Eagles won two NFL championships — in 1949 and 1960.
Unfortunately, the Eagles lost their winning wings and fell apart under the ownership change. They never once made the postseason under Wolman and went 30-51-3 over his six years at the helm.
Wolman lost his wealth and eventually became bankrupt, forcing him to sell the Eagles and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers whom he also owned. In 1969, Wolman sold the team to Leonard Tose — oversaw four playoff appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl in the 1980 season.
Best: Pat Bowlen
After just three years as owner of the Denver Broncos, prominent financier Edgar Kaiser Jr. sold the team to Pat Bowlen in 1984 for $78 million. Bowlen inherited a team that was coming off a nine-win season and playoff appearance with rookie QB John Elway.
Once Bowlen took over as captain, the Broncos’ franchise was forever changed — and for the better.
Bowlen was mostly hands-off during his run as the Broncos’ owner, but he also has a knack for pushing the right buttons at the right time: (See the Dan Reeves-Wade Phillips coaching swap and the Mike Shanahan hire in 1995).
Under Bowlen’s ownership, the Elway-led Broncos reached five Super Bowls. They lost the first three before finally breaking through with back-to-back championships in the 1997 and ‘98 seasons.
In a professional and heartwarming gesture, Bowlen took (at 2:58 mark) the Lombardi Trophy after the Broncos won their first championship and said “This one’s for John!” before handing his QB football’s ultimate prize.
Sadly, Bowlen had to step down as owner of the Broncos due to Alzheimer’s disease in 2014 — with Joe Ellis taking control of the team. The Broncos won their third Super Bowl in the 2015 season, and Elway returned the favor to his friend by screaming “This one’s for PAT”.
Denver went 333-225-1 over Bowlen’s official 35-year run as team owner. 21-and-15 in the postseason. Three Super Bowls. Oh, and they didn’t suffer consecutive losing seasons under Bowlen’s ownership until the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Bowlen, who passed away in 2019, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame that same year.
Worst: Woody Johnson
The late Leon Hess owned the New York Jets from 1963 until his death at the age of 85 in 1999. The estate of Hess officially owned the Jets for the 1999 season before they were sold to Johnson & Johnson heir Woody Johnson in 2000 for $635 million.
The Jets won their lone Super Bowl championship under Hess in the 1968 season behind legendary QB Joe Namath. They struggled for much of the ‘70s and ‘80s but began to enjoy a revival under Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells during Hess’ final years — going as far as the 1998 AFC Championship Game.
The Jets, however, have been a joke since Johnson bought the team.
2023 marked the Jets’ eighth consecutive losing season as well as their 13th straight non-playoff season. The Rex Ryan circus show lasted three years too long. The Adam Gase hiring was even worse. What about firing GM Mike Maccagnan AFTER the 2019 draft?
The Jets have made the postseason six times under Johnson, sure, but all of those appearances happened within his first 11 years as owner. It’s been nothing but losing, embarrassment and clown shows since 2011.
Best: Jack Kent Cooke
Cooke bought a 25 percent stake in the Washington NFL team ownership from franchise founder George Preston Marshall in 1961. After Marshall’s passing in 1969, team president and part owner Edward Bennett Williams took over as the owner.
Cooke became the full owner in 1974 and turned this struggling franchise into a winner. His biggest win was hiring Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs, who led the club to Super Bowl championships in the 1982, 1987 and 1991 seasons.
In all, Washington made the postseason nine times with Cooke as the majority owner. They played in four Super Bowls and went 250-169-3 during his 28-year run a partial/majority/sole owner of the franchise.
Before his passing in 1997, Cooke had also secured a new stadium — now known as FedExField — for the football team. The field opened months after his death.
And seeing how much of a nightmare Dan Snyder was as owner, Cooke himself has a much more celebrated and appreciated legacy in Washington sports lore.
Worst: Ford Family
You kids will find this hard to believe, but the Lions were once a model organization before the whole “Rebuilding since 1957” label thing.
In 1947, Fred L. Mandel Jr. sold the Lions to a seven-person syndicate referred to as the “Detroit Football Company.” D. Lyle Fife was initially the president before resigning, with partner Edwin J. Anderson replacing him.
Under Anderson’s leadership, those Lions won the NFL championship in 1952, ‘53 and ‘57.
A power struggle eventually erupted between Anderson and Fife. William Clay Ford Sr. —part of the “Detroit Football Company” syndicate — took advantage of the opportunity and stepped in to purchase full control of the Lions in 1963.
The Lions never reached a Super Bowl under Ford. They won 310 games and lost 441 during his tenure as owner. They went 1-10 in postseason games under his ownership — with the lone victory coming in 1991.
His widow, Martha Firestone Ford, inherited the team following his death in 2013. The Lions twice reached the playoffs but never won a postseason game. The team FINALLY began to turn a corner when Mrs. Ford handed the team over to her daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp,in 2020.
Ford Hamp has the Lions on the path to prominence now thanks to the home run hirings of Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes. Still, 65 years of rebuilding has been a tough pill for Lions fans to swallow. Ford Sr. taking over as owner more than six decades ago really just wound up setting this franchise back for almost 70 full years.
What other great and awful NFL ownership changes should we have included on our list?
