If you want to understand who really runs American football, look at the owner’s box. The NFL has thirty-two franchises and almost every single one is controlled by a single billionaire — many of whom made their fortune somewhere else entirely (oil, finance, retail, tech, hedge funds) and bought a team because it was the only trophy they didn’t already have. I dug into Forbes’ 2026 billionaires list, NFL ownership disclosures, and each franchise’s reported sale or valuation history to rank the ten wealthiest owners as of May 2026.
How we built this list
Net-worth figures here come from Forbes’ real-time billionaires tracker as of May 2026. NFL franchise valuations and ownership stakes are sourced from the league’s last public-financials disclosure and Sportico’s 2026 valuation report. I’m ranking by personal net worth, not franchise value — so a hedge-fund billionaire who owns 70% of a team beats a 30% minority owner of a more valuable team. Joint family-trust ownerships (like the Bidwills with Arizona or the McCaskeys with Chicago) are excluded because no single individual holds majority control.
The Top 10
1. David Tepper — Carolina Panthers
Net worth: ~$22.0 billion. The hedge-fund billionaire (Appaloosa Management) bought the Panthers in 2018 for $2.275 billion — at the time, an NFL record. Tepper’s wealth comes from distressed-debt investing through Appaloosa, the firm he founded in 1993. He is the wealthiest sole owner of any NFL franchise in 2026.
2. Rob Walton — Denver Broncos (lead partner)
Net worth: ~$110 billion (broader Walton family). Rob Walton, son of Walmart founder Sam Walton, led the consortium that bought the Denver Broncos in 2022 for $4.65 billion — the largest sale price ever paid for a North American sports franchise. While Walton heads the group, he shares ownership with his daughter Carrie Walton Penner and son-in-law Greg Penner.
3. Stan Kroenke — Los Angeles Rams
Net worth: ~$16.5 billion. Real-estate-and-sports mogul Stan Kroenke owns the LA Rams outright (plus Arsenal FC in the Premier League, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, and LA Gladiators). He married into the Walton family — his wife Ann Walton Kroenke is Sam Walton’s niece — which is partly how the family built its diversified sports empire.
4. Shahid Khan — Jacksonville Jaguars
Net worth: ~$13.0 billion. Pakistani-American businessman Shahid Khan made his fortune through Flex-N-Gate, his Illinois-based auto-parts company, which supplies bumpers and assemblies to nearly every major automaker. He bought the Jaguars in 2011 from Wayne Weaver and has been the franchise’s sole owner since.
5. Jerry Jones — Dallas Cowboys
Net worth: ~$15.5 billion. Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $140 million when the team was bleeding money — today it’s the most valuable franchise in North American sports at ~$11+ billion. Jones’ fortune originally came from oil and gas (Arkoma) and now sits almost entirely in the franchise itself, plus AT&T Stadium and related real estate.
6. Arthur Blank — Atlanta Falcons
Net worth: ~$10.5 billion. The co-founder of The Home Depot bought the Falcons in 2002 for $545 million. Blank also owns Atlanta United FC in MLS and the PGA Tour Superstore retail chain. He has been a notably hands-on owner — present at most home games, active in front-office decisions, and visible in Atlanta’s civic philanthropy.
7. Terry Pegula — Buffalo Bills
Net worth: ~$7.7 billion. Pegula made his fortune in natural-gas fracking through East Resources, which he sold to Royal Dutch Shell for $4.7 billion in 2010. He bought the Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion (saving them from a possible relocation) and also owns the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL and the Buffalo Bandits of the NLL.
8. Stephen Ross — Miami Dolphins
Net worth: ~$9.5 billion. The founder of Related Companies, one of the largest privately-held real-estate developers in the US (Hudson Yards in Manhattan is theirs), Ross bought the Dolphins in 2009. His ownership extends to Hard Rock Stadium and the Miami Open tennis tournament held there annually.
9. Robert Kraft — New England Patriots
Net worth: ~$10.8 billion. Kraft built his initial fortune in paper and packaging through The Kraft Group. He bought the Patriots in 1994 for $172 million — a price most observers thought he had overpaid. Six Super Bowl titles later, the franchise is worth more than 35x that figure. He also owns the New England Revolution in MLS and Gillette Stadium.
10. Jim Irsay — Indianapolis Colts
Net worth: ~$3.8 billion. Irsay inherited the Colts from his father Robert Irsay in 1997, which makes him one of the few NFL owners who didn’t buy the franchise outright. His personal fortune sits almost entirely in the team itself plus a famous collection of rock-and-roll memorabilia. He has been actively involved in football operations throughout his tenure.
At-a-glance comparison
| Rank | Owner | Team | Net Worth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Walton | Denver Broncos | $110B (family) |
| 2 | David Tepper | Carolina Panthers | $22.0B |
| 3 | Stan Kroenke | LA Rams | $16.5B |
| 4 | Jerry Jones | Dallas Cowboys | $15.5B |
| 5 | Shahid Khan | Jacksonville Jaguars | $13.0B |
| 6 | Robert Kraft | New England Patriots | $10.8B |
| 7 | Arthur Blank | Atlanta Falcons | $10.5B |
| 8 | Stephen Ross | Miami Dolphins | $9.5B |
| 9 | Terry Pegula | Buffalo Bills | $7.7B |
| 10 | Jim Irsay | Indianapolis Colts | $3.8B |
My take
What’s striking when you line up these numbers is that NFL ownership has essentially become a billionaires-only club — every single name on this list cleared $3B before they bought a piece of their franchise. The Tepper acquisition in 2018 set the modern price floor; the Walton-Penner deal in 2022 reset it again. As of 2026, I genuinely don’t think a sub-$5B billionaire could compete for an NFL franchise sale. The next generation of owners is going to come from tech, sovereign wealth, or coalitions of private-equity money — the days of a single regional businessman buying his hometown team for under a billion dollars are over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the richest NFL team owner in 2026?
Rob Walton, lead partner of the Denver Broncos, is the wealthiest individual involved in NFL ownership in 2026, with a family net worth of roughly $110 billion derived from Walmart. Among sole owners — meaning a single person, not a family consortium — David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers leads at about $22 billion.
Which is the most valuable NFL franchise?
The Dallas Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones since 1989, have been the most valuable NFL franchise for over two decades. Forbes estimates the team’s value at more than $11 billion in 2026, ahead of the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.
How much did the Denver Broncos sell for?
The Walton-Penner family group bought the Denver Broncos in 2022 for $4.65 billion, which remains the largest sale price ever paid for a North American sports franchise. The previous record was the David Tepper purchase of the Carolina Panthers in 2018 for $2.275 billion.
Are any NFL teams publicly owned?
Only the Green Bay Packers are publicly owned, but their shares are non-transferable, pay no dividends, and confer no voting power on team operations. Every other NFL franchise is privately held, typically by a single principal owner or a small family-led group of partners.
Can a billionaire buy any NFL team they want?
No. Any sale of an NFL franchise — or any change of more than 30% ownership — must be approved by a three-quarters supermajority of the existing NFL owners. The league also imposes a debt limit on franchise purchases (currently capped at $1 billion per team), which is one of the main reasons sovereign-wealth funds and private equity have only recently been allowed minority stakes.
