The Top 10 Best Owners In The NFL

[PATRIOT64]

Here is how I rank the top ten best NFL owners in the NFL and reasons why - 1 is best to 10 at bottom but still #10 is better than the other 22 IMO.....

1) ROBERT KRAFT (NEW ENGLAND) - Robert started this franchise out on the right track by hiring the best in the business at the time of his purchase,Bill Parcells then after a short failure with Pete Carroll,hired what will surely be a Hall Of Fame coach in Bill Belichick - It seems no matter what moves and decisions Robert has done in the past 14 years it has been a very smart one -The best owner by far at this point.

2) DAN ROONEY & FAMILY (PITTSBURGH) - Have always held this ownership family in high regards,The fact that there has only been 2 head coaches up to this year shows how much trust and dedication the ownership has in whom they hire plus not to forget this franchise has won 5 Super Bowls.

3) JAMES IRSAY (COLTS) - What can you say about the way this organization has been running the past decade?,This team has remarkably stayed in contention thru salary cap issues and for the most part kept a good nucleus together with an awesome display of talent in Manning,Harrison and Wayne with only Edgerrin James being the biggest loss in FA as far as I can go back,The GM is pretty damn good at picking great players out of the draft as well.

4) DAN SNYDER (REDSKINS) - O.K. This team has not done much since Snyder has purchased the team in 1999 but you have to admit he has been able to pay and get the high profile players each FA period he wanted and did not think twice about it,The only reason Snyder is not a #1 owner right now is because his teams have always failed to have the chemistry between all of the high profile players he joined together during almost every FA period,otherwise he might have had several SB championships by now if the talent he had signed actually played as well as they did on their previous teams,Can't fault his efforts though to bring a championship to the Capital and I believe before not too long in a few years,he just might.

5) JEFFERY LURIE (EAGLES) - Throw out the mistake of signing T.O. and you have a great organization that has had its team in contention for a playoff berth nearly every year,They have one of the absolute best coaches in Andy Reid and have had all the tools needed to win a championship but have yet to put it all together,This year could be a special one for Jeffery's team if Donovan plays well as he is surely capable of,The fact that Lurie kicked T.O. to the curb and faced backlash from fans about losing a big part of the offense that year shows how much Lurie wants credibility and a tranquil environment over a great player like T.O. was then but he was trouble in the locker room and did not get along with the teams starting QB so Jeffery made the right decision,Lurie is a class act,head to toe.

The bottom part of top 10 in short....

6) Jerry Jones (Cowboys) - An owner who refuses to let his team rebuild,Tries hard to keep a continuous competitive team every year and has done well in drafting solid players recently like Ware and making a smart decision on Romo over Bledsoe.

7) Ralph Wilson (Bills) - What can you say about an owner who has had his team for nearly 48 years and went from a 25G purchase to a team worth 625Gs now - Win or lose those 4 SBs,What he has accomplished is still respectable

8) Alex Spanos (Chargers) - Has slowly built this team over the past 5 years to a powerhouse it looks to be for awhile,The fact that Tomlinson,Merrimen,Brees and Castillo have all been successful draft picks and all-pros during a short period speaks volumes of the GM Smith.

9) Wayne Weaver (Jaguars) - Jax has been semmingly in the playoff hunt for most of its 14 year existence,must respect this owner who has made some good decisions along the way.

10) Pat Bowlen (Broncos)- Has kept the second best coach in the game for many years now and Denver has also been a very consistent team with an annual top running game,no matter who is playing the position.
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Agree or Somebody else not mentioned in here?

 

[Seymour93]

I would put the Green Bay Packers Foundation as #1 as IMO it's better for a community of geniune fans to have control of a franchise.

Spanos has been notoriously stingy over the years and the stadium situation is still unclear. Their recent success has nothing to do with him. I would probably put Paul Allen in his place, as the Seahawks have made a 180 since Allen has taken over, both on the field and off it.

Besides that, I agree with your rankings.

 

[gomezcat]

It's a good list. I am surprised by Snyder at 4, but you make a good case for it, even if I don't completely agree.
Like Sey, I would add Green Bay to the list.

 

[BTTA]

The Redskins will never win with Snyder. His "spend first, think later" attitude will always be ruinous. I'd put him near the bottom of NFL owners, particularly given how much money he has and how little return he's gotten on it.

This list should consider an owner's wealth vs. his teams success. The best owners win the most games with the least money.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Good list and you make some very valid points. I disagree with you choice of Snyder. He's like a rich kid in the candy store who wants it all. He chooses to sign the 'big name' whether or not it fits into an overall philosophy of team chemistry or helping the team. In th elong run in the era of salary cap., this means less money for the rest of the team meaning he's not able to put the best product out there. For that reason and the fact that he has one of the most rabid fan bases that always and always has sold out ( making his job easier) I'd rank him in the middle of the pack.

 

[DarrylS]

Kraft deserves #1, Green Bay deserves to be on this list, Dan Snyder reminds me somewhat or a George Steinbrenner and a little bit of a Mark Cuban.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Thougtful post. Thanks.

I'd put Lurie and Jones above Snyder, but your top three are right on, for an indisputable "top five." I think the Pack is a franchise with a proud history, and maybe it's difficult for them to do much in Favre's final years, in which he is essentially writing the franchise's script, but I don't think I'd put them on the list today.

 

[richpats]

Snyder is a businessman's owner, not a sports fan's owner. The guy wins in his own way - most profitable and highest-valued franchise, year-in and year-out. Yes, he does have the advantage of having a rabid fan base in an area devoid of quality pro teams. But he keeps them excited about the team every year by signing names to generate a buzz. Look at his last 2 coaching choices - Spurrier? Gibbs? These guys are "names" meant to generate a buzz, not necessarily the best guys for the position. You think Snyder would ever hand the reigns over to a young guy with upside but with no "star power" like Eric Mangini? No way.

 

[shmessy]

Regarding your pick of Snyder for #4 - - That's unbelievable.

The Redskins were a great FOOTBALL franchise before Snyder conducted his hostile takeover and started sodomizing the fans for his own pockets. He charges them for attending training camp? Yes, that kind of thing will land him atop the Forbes highest asset football franchise list, but not for long. He is a corporate taekover raider. He's doing the same thing to Six Flags America.

Even the notoriously sheep-like Redskin fans are beginning to rebel - - that's akin to Deadheads dumping Jerry Garcia.

He thinks he's the GM and has screwed up this team for years. He hasn't learned a thing and keeps making the same mistakes.
I live smack dab between DC and Baltimore, and if my neighbors had the choice, they would easily pick Peter Angelos over Dan Snyder as an owner.

THAT'S how bad Snyder is.

I'd put Lurie at #3 and Bowlen at #4. Snyder nowhere near the top ten.

 

[shmessy]

P.S. On the hailRedskins.com website, there is a thread re: Snyder "buying" the American Bandstand franchise.

Lots of comments from the faithful comparing his buying agiing vets like Brunell and Bruce Smith to buying **** Clark.

My fave comment came from "Dukeuch":

"Expect Bandstand to sign up Milli Vanilli, Big Country and Dexy's Midnight Runners any day now for huge appearance fees.."

 

[PATRIOT64]

Regarding your pick of Snyder for #4 - - That's unbelievable.

The Redskins were a great FOOTBALL franchise before Snyder conducted his hostile takeover and started sodomizing the fans for his own pockets. He charges them for attending training camp? Yes, that kind of thing will land him atop the Forbes highest asset football franchise list, but not for long. He is a corporate taekover raider. He's doing the same thing to Six Flags America.

Even the notoriously sheep-like Redskin fans are beginning to rebel - - that's akin to Deadheads dumping Jerry Garcia.

He thinks he's the GM and has screwed up this team for years. He hasn't learned a thing and keeps making the same mistakes.
I live smack dab between DC and Baltimore, and if my neighbors had the choice, they would easily pick Peter Angelos over Dan Snyder as an owner.

THAT'S how bad Snyder is.

I'd put Lurie at #3 and Bowlen at #4. Snyder nowhere near the top ten.

I put Snyder up on the list because even though he has not been as successful as Kraft and Irsay ect: I think as an owner almost every year he has tried hard,if not harder than most owners to bring in talent to the team to not only excite the fans and up sales on merchandise ect but also has planned on making the team yearly be a very good team.

Unfortunately for Dan,the guys he gets on the team do not play as well as they did for their previous team,thus Dan has had bad luck and the Redskins have not been competitive too much lately - BUT you have to give kudos for Dan trying as hard as he can to bring a winner to Washington,Because the guys he puts together cannot function as 1 team or play well as their NFL play resume showed prior to joining Washington,does not make him a bad owner,He is just a poor determiner of talent structure within his team,but still he is a good owner and has the heart of a guy trying to win IMO.

 

[JackPMiller]

My top 10

1. The Packer Foundation(Packers) - The community owns the team.

2. The Rooney's(Steelers) - they owned that team forever it seems.

3. The Halas family(Bears) - been there since the league started back in the early 1920's.

4. The Irsay family - In part of a trade where the owners traded each other in some way back in the 50's, Irsay former Rams owner to be the owner of the Colts for Rosenbloom former Colts owner to be the owner the Rams, but the Irsays have been in the NFL for a long time, so they are here.

5. Robert Kraft(Patriots) - what has been the Pats record with them vs not with them

6. Pat Bolin(Broncos) - He does not give up on his coaches as quicly as some may.

7. Georgia Frontiere(Rams) - She has owned the team for over 30 plus years, being there for both the good times and bad times. Granted she is having major health problems, but still, got to give her credit for being there. Also, It is probably tough being a female in a male dominated league.

8. Jerry Richardson(Panthers) - Give them credit, this team has always been comptitive, and came within 3 points of winning a Super Bowl.

9. Ralph Wilson (Bills) - Got this team when the AFL, and brought them over to the NFL, and has had some success, but never won the big one. He is a classy guy, and I would like for him to get his ring one day.

10. Jerry Laurie(Eagles) - A model franchise that has been doing the right thing for years. The team is always competitive.

 

[peterforpats]

1. green bay- for reasons mentioned
2. the maras- their insistance to share the revenue makes football what it is today
3. the rooneys- they do it right
4. robert kraft- the right balance of delegation and publicity.
5. al davis- every organization needs an al davis-yes he might have stayed to long, but his inventiveness,brashness and ability to piss everyone else off has been a blast to watch over the years.


bottom- every owner who doesn't have a clue and never will.

 

[Calciumee]

1. green bay- for reasons mentioned
2. the maras- their insistance to share the revenue makes football what it is today
3. the rooneys- they do it right
4. robert kraft- the right balance of delegation and publicity.
5. al davis- every organization needs an al davis-yes he might have stayed to long, but his inventiveness,brashness and ability to piss everyone else off has been a blast to watch over the years.


bottom- every owner who doesn't have a clue and never will.

Why dig up a thread nearly 4 years old?

 

[JoeSixPat]

Here is how I rank the top ten best NFL owners in the NFL and reasons why - 1 is best to 10 at bottom but still #10 is better than the other 22 IMO.....

1) ROBERT KRAFT (NEW ENGLAND) - Robert started this franchise out on the right track by hiring the best in the business at the time of his purchase,Bill Parcells then after a short failure with Pete Carroll,hired what will surely be a Hall Of Fame coach in Bill Belichick - It seems no matter what moves and decisions Robert has done in the past 14 years it has been a very smart one -The best owner by far at this point.

2) DAN ROONEY & FAMILY (PITTSBURGH) - Have always held this ownership family in high regards,The fact that there has only been 2 head coaches up to this year shows how much trust and dedication the ownership has in whom they hire plus not to forget this franchise has won 5 Super Bowls.

3) JAMES IRSAY (COLTS) - What can you say about the way this organization has been running the past decade?,This team has remarkably stayed in contention thru salary cap issues and for the most part kept a good nucleus together with an awesome display of talent in Manning,Harrison and Wayne with only Edgerrin James being the biggest loss in FA as far as I can go back,The GM is pretty damn good at picking great players out of the draft as well.

4) DAN SNYDER (REDSKINS) - O.K. This team has not done much since Snyder has purchased the team in 1999 but you have to admit he has been able to pay and get the high profile players each FA period he wanted and did not think twice about it,The only reason Snyder is not a #1 owner right now is because his teams have always failed to have the chemistry between all of the high profile players he joined together during almost every FA period,otherwise he might have had several SB championships by now if the talent he had signed actually played as well as they did on their previous teams,Can't fault his efforts though to bring a championship to the Capital and I believe before not too long in a few years,he just might.

5) JEFFERY LURIE (EAGLES) - Throw out the mistake of signing T.O. and you have a great organization that has had its team in contention for a playoff berth nearly every year,They have one of the absolute best coaches in Andy Reid and have had all the tools needed to win a championship but have yet to put it all together,This year could be a special one for Jeffery's team if Donovan plays well as he is surely capable of,The fact that Lurie kicked T.O. to the curb and faced backlash from fans about losing a big part of the offense that year shows how much Lurie wants credibility and a tranquil environment over a great player like T.O. was then but he was trouble in the locker room and did not get along with the teams starting QB so Jeffery made the right decision,Lurie is a class act,head to toe.

The bottom part of top 10 in short....

6) Jerry Jones (Cowboys) - An owner who refuses to let his team rebuild,Tries hard to keep a continuous competitive team every year and has done well in drafting solid players recently like Ware and making a smart decision on Romo over Bledsoe.

7) Ralph Wilson (Bills) - What can you say about an owner who has had his team for nearly 48 years and went from a 25G purchase to a team worth 625Gs now - Win or lose those 4 SBs,What he has accomplished is still respectable

8) Alex Spanos (Chargers) - Has slowly built this team over the past 5 years to a powerhouse it looks to be for awhile,The fact that Tomlinson,Merrimen,Brees and Castillo have all been successful draft picks and all-pros during a short period speaks volumes of the GM Smith.

9) Wayne Weaver (Jaguars) - Jax has been semmingly in the playoff hunt for most of its 14 year existence,must respect this owner who has made some good decisions along the way.

10) Pat Bowlen (Broncos)- Has kept the second best coach in the game for many years now and Denver has also been a very consistent team with an annual top running game,no matter who is playing the position.
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Agree or Somebody else not mentioned in here?

I guess when one looks at the "best owner" it needs to go beyond the football field.

As much as I respect the drafting of the Colts, I'm trying to recall, was it Irsay or Polian who mumbled something in their box in front of the media about hoping certain Patriots get injured?

That's gotta knock them down a few notches in my book - I can't imagine Bob Kraft saying that or tolerating his GM or Coach issuing a similar sentiment

As far as Ralph Wilson, I find it tough to look at the Bills and say that's a well run organization. Part of this whole CBA debacle comes down to the fact that there are owners who refuse to maximize their own revenue, but want to profit off the hard work of guys like Kraft - and to skirt that main issue they're instead looking for more money from the players.

Buffalo has a great history - knowledgable fans - and I think the NFL is better with a strong Bills team.

But the fact that the Patriots play in Gillette Stadium and the Bills play in Ralph Wilson stadium tells you a bit about how far he's willing to go to put the organization ahead of himself... points off for that in my book too.

George Halas is high in my rankings - though I still wish that all those fans who hate Belichick would wake up and realize that Halas and Lamar Hunt originated spying and cheating way back in the 50s... I remind folks of that at every opportunity, not because I dislike Halas, but because it put's Belichick and many other great football minds approach to the game in the proper context of gamesmanship that goes back to the start of the game.

I might even give the Rooney family top billing over Kraft overall because they've been doing it much longer.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I think on the field performance should matter, and for that reason I think Snyder should drop. Caring a lot doesn't make you a good owner. 7 head coaches in 12 years speaks volumes about his management ability too.

Arthur Blank and John Mara probably belong somewhere in the top 10, at least above Snyder.

 

[NEPatriot]

I would put the Green Bay Packers Foundation as #1 as IMO it's better for a community of geniune fans to have control of a franchise.

Spanos has been notoriously stingy over the years and the stadium situation is still unclear. Their recent success has nothing to do with him. I would probably put Paul Allen in his place, as the Seahawks have made a 180 since Allen has taken over, both on the field and off it.

Besides that, I agree with your rankings.

Having lived in San Diego I would second the comments on Spanos. While thte team has done well, he has put little into the stadium, is not well liked by the fans and has stated if the city wouldn't pay for a stadium he might have to move.

 

[jcdavey]

Here is how I rank the top ten best NFL owners in the NFL and reasons why - 1 is best to 10 at bottom but still #10 is better than the other 22 IMO.....

1) ROBERT KRAFT (NEW ENGLAND) - Robert started this franchise out on the right track by hiring the best in the business at the time of his purchase,Bill Parcells then after a short failure with Pete Carroll,hired what will surely be a Hall Of Fame coach in Bill Belichick - It seems no matter what moves and decisions Robert has done in the past 14 years it has been a very smart one -The best owner by far at this point.

2) DAN ROONEY & FAMILY (PITTSBURGH) - Have always held this ownership family in high regards,The fact that there has only been 2 head coaches up to this year shows how much trust and dedication the ownership has in whom they hire plus not to forget this franchise has won 5 Super Bowls.

3) JAMES IRSAY (COLTS) - What can you say about the way this organization has been running the past decade?,This team has remarkably stayed in contention thru salary cap issues and for the most part kept a good nucleus together with an awesome display of talent in Manning,Harrison and Wayne with only Edgerrin James being the biggest loss in FA as far as I can go back,The GM is pretty damn good at picking great players out of the draft as well.

4) DAN SNYDER (REDSKINS) - O.K. This team has not done much since Snyder has purchased the team in 1999 but you have to admit he has been able to pay and get the high profile players each FA period he wanted and did not think twice about it,The only reason Snyder is not a #1 owner right now is because his teams have always failed to have the chemistry between all of the high profile players he joined together during almost every FA period,otherwise he might have had several SB championships by now if the talent he had signed actually played as well as they did on their previous teams,Can't fault his efforts though to bring a championship to the Capital and I believe before not too long in a few years,he just might.

5) JEFFERY LURIE (EAGLES) - Throw out the mistake of signing T.O. and you have a great organization that has had its team in contention for a playoff berth nearly every year,They have one of the absolute best coaches in Andy Reid and have had all the tools needed to win a championship but have yet to put it all together,This year could be a special one for Jeffery's team if Donovan plays well as he is surely capable of,The fact that Lurie kicked T.O. to the curb and faced backlash from fans about losing a big part of the offense that year shows how much Lurie wants credibility and a tranquil environment over a great player like T.O. was then but he was trouble in the locker room and did not get along with the teams starting QB so Jeffery made the right decision,Lurie is a class act,head to toe.

The bottom part of top 10 in short....

6) Jerry Jones (Cowboys) - An owner who refuses to let his team rebuild,Tries hard to keep a continuous competitive team every year and has done well in drafting solid players recently like Ware and making a smart decision on Romo over Bledsoe.

7) Ralph Wilson (Bills) - What can you say about an owner who has had his team for nearly 48 years and went from a 25G purchase to a team worth 625Gs now - Win or lose those 4 SBs,What he has accomplished is still respectable

8) Alex Spanos (Chargers) - Has slowly built this team over the past 5 years to a powerhouse it looks to be for awhile,The fact that Tomlinson,Merrimen,Brees and Castillo have all been successful draft picks and all-pros during a short period speaks volumes of the GM Smith.

9) Wayne Weaver (Jaguars) - Jax has been semmingly in the playoff hunt for most of its 14 year existence,must respect this owner who has made some good decisions along the way.

10) Pat Bowlen (Broncos)- Has kept the second best coach in the game for many years now and Denver has also been a very consistent team with an annual top running game,no matter who is playing the position.
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Agree or Somebody else not mentioned in here?

i'm kinda shocked to read good words about my team's GM, on this site lol

 

[jcdavey]

Having lived in San Diego I would second the comments on Spanos. While thte team has done well, he has put little into the stadium, is not well liked by the fans and has stated if the city wouldn't pay for a stadium he might have to move.

spanos is correct though

san diego is a corrupt city when it comes to local government (this is a proven fact), and they've screwed over the chargers while bending over backward to help the padres get a new park

i think the chargers moving out of san diego, given the way the city has screwed them over, is a GOOD move

 

[lurker1965]

...
4) DAN SNYDER (REDSKINS) - O.K. This team has not done much since Snyder has purchased the team in 1999 but you have to admit he has been able to pay and get the high profile players each FA period he wanted and did not think twice about it,The only reason Snyder is not a #1 owner right now is because his teams have always failed to have the chemistry between all of the high profile players he joined together during almost every FA period,otherwise he might have had several SB championships by now if the talent he had signed actually played as well as they did on their previous teams,Can't fault his efforts though to bring a championship to the Capital and I believe before not too long in a few years,he just might.

....

6) Jerry Jones (Cowboys) - An owner who refuses to let his team rebuild,Tries hard to keep a continuous competitive team every year and has done well in drafting solid players recently like Ware and making a smart decision on Romo over Bledsoe.

Is it just me, or could your reasoning for Jones apply to Snyder and vice versa.