As of August 2, 2026, 31 NFL clubs are controlled by a person, family or private ownership group, while the Green Bay Packers remain the league's one community-owned exception. The list below identifies the person or group that holds control or serves as the franchise's principal NFL representative. It is not a list of every passive investor. That distinction matters in Denver, where Greg Penner is the designated controlling owner of a group associated with Rob Walton, and in New York, where the Koch family owns a non-controlling Giants stake. Seattle also needs an asterisk: the Paul G. Allen estate has agreed to sell the Seahawks to a Khosla-family-led group, but an agreement does not make the buyer the current owner before approvals and closing.
Complete List of All 32 NFL Team Owners in 2026
The tables are organized by division so they can be scanned alongside the league structure. “Since” refers to the present family's or group's entry into ownership, not necessarily the year the named control person assumed that role. For schedules rather than business ownership, use the site's NFL schedules by team directory.
AFC owners
| Division | Team | Control owner or controlling group | Since / context |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFC East | Buffalo Bills | Terry and Kim Pegula | Pegula family purchased the club in 2014 |
| AFC East | Miami Dolphins | Stephen Ross | Majority control since 2009 after an initial 2008 investment |
| AFC East | New England Patriots | Robert Kraft | Purchased in 1994 |
| AFC East | New York Jets | Woody Johnson and the Johnson family | Family ownership since 2000 |
| AFC North | Baltimore Ravens | Steve Bisciotti | Became majority owner in 2004 |
| AFC North | Cincinnati Bengals | Mike Brown and the Brown family | Family founded the franchise in 1968; Mike Brown has led it since 1991 |
| AFC North | Cleveland Browns | Jimmy and Dee Haslam | Haslam Sports Group purchased control in 2012 |
| AFC North | Pittsburgh Steelers | Art Rooney II and the Rooney family | Family ownership since 1933 |
| AFC South | Houston Texans | Cal McNair and the McNair family | Founding family; Cal approved as principal owner in 2024 |
| AFC South | Indianapolis Colts | Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson | Irsay family since 1972; daughters assumed current roles in 2025 |
| AFC South | Jacksonville Jaguars | Shahid Khan | Purchased in 2012 |
| AFC South | Tennessee Titans | Amy Adams Strunk and the Adams family | Founding family since 1959 |
| AFC West | Denver Broncos | Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group; Greg Penner is controlling owner | Group purchased the club in 2022 |
| AFC West | Kansas City Chiefs | Clark Hunt and the Hunt family | Family founded the franchise in 1959 |
| AFC West | Las Vegas Raiders | Mark Davis | Davis family since 1971; Mark has led since 2011 |
| AFC West | Los Angeles Chargers | Dean Spanos and the Spanos family | Family ownership since 1984 |
NFC owners
| Division | Team | Control owner or controlling group | Since / context |
|---|---|---|---|
| NFC East | Dallas Cowboys | Jerry Jones and family | Purchased in 1989 |
| NFC East | New York Giants | Mara and Tisch families | Mara family since 1925; Tisch family joined in 1991 |
| NFC East | Philadelphia Eagles | Jeffrey Lurie | Purchased in 1994 |
| NFC East | Washington Commanders | Josh Harris and his ownership group | Group purchased the club in 2023 |
| NFC North | Chicago Bears | George McCaskey and the Halas-McCaskey family | Founding family since 1920 |
| NFC North | Detroit Lions | Sheila Ford Hamp and the Ford family | Family ownership since 1963; Hamp became principal owner in 2020 |
| NFC North | Green Bay Packers | Green Bay Packers, Inc. shareholders | Public nonprofit corporation since 1923 |
| NFC North | Minnesota Vikings | Zygi Wilf, Mark Wilf and the Wilf family | Ownership group purchased the club in 2005 |
| NFC South | Atlanta Falcons | Arthur Blank | Purchased in 2002 |
| NFC South | Carolina Panthers | David Tepper | Purchased in 2018 |
| NFC South | New Orleans Saints | Gayle Benson | Benson family since 1985; Gayle assumed control in 2018 |
| NFC South | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Glazer family | Family purchased the club in 1995 |
| NFC West | Arizona Cardinals | Michael Bidwill and the Bidwill family | Family ownership since 1932 |
| NFC West | Los Angeles Rams | Stan Kroenke | Became controlling owner in 2010 |
| NFC West | San Francisco 49ers | Jed York and the York family | DeBartolo-York family ownership since 1977 |
| NFC West | Seattle Seahawks | Estate of Paul G. Allen, chaired by Jody Allen | Owned since 1997; sale to a Khosla-led group is pending |
This control-focused format intentionally omits many limited partners. A passive investor can own a valuable slice of a franchise without selecting the coach, representing the club in league votes or directing daily operations.
The 2026 Ownership Changes Fans Should Know
Seattle has an agreed buyer, but the sale is not yet closed
On July 11, 2026, the Paul G. Allen estate announced a formal agreement to sell the Seahawks to an ownership group led by the Khosla family, including Vinod Khosla. That is a major development, but it is still a transaction in progress. Until league approval, other required conditions and closing are complete, the accurate current owner remains the Allen estate, with Jody Allen serving as chair. Readers should be skeptical of lists that already present the agreed buyer as the completed owner without a pending label.
Indianapolis moved to the next Irsay generation
Jim Irsay died in May 2025, and current Colts ownership is shared by his daughters. Carlie Irsay-Gordon serves as Owner and CEO, Casey Foyt as Owner and Executive Vice President, and Kalen Jackson as Owner and Chief Brand Officer. Naming only Irsay-Gordon is useful shorthand for the principal executive, but naming all three gives the more complete ownership answer.
Chicago and Houston entries are often stale
Virginia Halas McCaskey died in February 2025. The Bears remain controlled by the Halas-McCaskey family, with George McCaskey serving as chairman and principal public representative. In Houston, Cal McNair was approved as the Texans' principal owner in March 2024 and also serves as chair and CEO. A page can have a fresh timestamp yet still repeat an old owner name, so role pages and transaction announcements matter more than the “updated” badge alone.
Why “Who Owns the Team?” Can Have More Than One Answer
Sports ownership is often presented as a single-name trivia question, but four labels can describe different jobs:
- Ownership group: all investors participating in the club's ownership vehicle.
- Controlling or principal owner: the person recognized as accountable for control and league business.
- Chair or CEO: the executive leading governance or day-to-day business, who may also be an owner.
- Minority investor: a person or fund with an economic stake but no operational control.
Denver is the cleanest example. The Walton-Penner Family Ownership Group includes Greg Penner, Carrie Walton Penner, Rob Walton, Mellody Hobson, Condoleezza Rice and Lewis Hamilton. Rob Walton supplied the famous Walton name and is the wealthiest member, but the Broncos identify Greg Penner as the designated controlling owner and Owner and CEO. Fans following that club can move from business context to the current Denver Broncos schedule.
The Giants show the minority distinction. The Mara and Tisch families remain controlling owners. The Koch family acquired a 10% non-controlling interest in 2025, so “Julia Koch owns part of the Giants” is true while “Julia Koch controls the Giants” is not. The Raiders provide another useful boundary: Mark Davis remains the owner in control. His 2026 succession arrangement gives minority investor Egon Durban an option to purchase a controlling interest if Davis decides to sell; an option for a future transaction does not transfer control today.
How Green Bay Packers Ownership Is Different
The Packers have been a publicly owned, nonprofit corporation since 1923. The club reports approximately 5,204,625 shares held by 538,967 stockholders. No shareholder receives a dividend on the original investment, and the shares do not function like freely traded stock in a public company. The corporation is governed by a board of directors and a seven-member executive committee, which sets broad policy, approves major capital expenditures and monitors management.
That means neither Ed Policy, the club's president and CEO, nor one wealthy fan “owns the Packers” in the conventional NFL sense. Policy leads the organization; the shareholders collectively own the corporation under its charter. The club also says no new stock offering is currently under consideration, so old certificates advertised elsewhere should not be confused with an opportunity to buy newly issued shares from the team. For games, dates and opponents, see the Green Bay Packers schedule.
What NFL Owners Actually Decide
An owner sets the accountability structure at the top of a franchise. That usually includes appointing or evaluating senior business leadership, deciding who controls football operations, approving major facilities and long-term investments, and representing the club in league matters. Owners also vote collectively on issues such as rule changes, media arrangements, franchise transactions and league policy.
How close an owner gets to roster decisions varies. Jerry Jones is both owner and general manager of the Cowboys, while other clubs delegate personnel authority to a general manager and coaching staff. It is therefore inaccurate to assume every transaction was personally chosen by the name in the owner column.
Owner wealth also does not buy a higher player salary cap. The NFL set the 2026 cap at $301.2 million per club, a leaguewide accounting limit. A wealthy ownership group can still invest aggressively in facilities, staffing, technology and cash timing, but it cannot simply declare a separate cap. To see the results those organizations are building toward, use the live 2026 NFL schedule; confirmed timing adjustments are tracked on the NFL schedule changes page.
NFL Ownership Rules and Minority Investors
The league requires an accountable control structure and approval of franchise transactions. In 2024, NFL owners also approved a significant change: selected private-equity funds could acquire passive stakes of up to 10% in a club. Those funds do not become the football boss. Their interests provide capital and liquidity while the control owner remains responsible for club decisions and league relationships.
This is why a mathematically complete list of every investor would be less useful—and would age much faster—than the table above. The Bills, Browns, Chargers, Dolphins, Giants, Patriots and 49ers are among clubs that have announced or completed minority transactions in the modern policy environment, but those deals did not necessarily replace the familiar control owner. Whenever a new investor is reported, ask two questions: Was the transaction approved and closed? and Is the interest controlling or passive?
NFL Owners FAQ
Who is the richest NFL owner in 2026?
Forbes' March 1, 2026 snapshot estimated Rob Walton and family at $146 billion, making the Broncos investor the wealthiest person associated with an NFL control group. That estimate includes family assets and is not a measure of liquid cash or the Broncos' standalone value. Greg Penner, not Walton, is Denver's designated controlling owner.
Who owns the Seattle Seahawks right now?
The Paul G. Allen estate, chaired by Jody Allen, remains the current ownership as of August 2, 2026. The estate has signed an agreement to sell to a Khosla-family-led group, but the buyer should be described as pending until approval and closing are announced.
Can fans buy Green Bay Packers stock now?
No current Packers stock offering is open. The club says its last offering ended in February 2022 and another is not presently under consideration. Existing shares also do not pay dividends or trade like ordinary market securities.
Do NFL owners pay player salaries without limits?
No. Clubs operate under the same NFL salary-cap and contract-accounting system. Ownership resources and strategy can influence facilities, staff and cash commitments, but they do not grant one team a larger player cap than another.
Comments