Dan Rooney (44 page)

Revenue sharing is a contentious topic. Teams at the low end—small markets—believe they should be made whole or equal to the average. Teams at the top want limits on funds distributions to help the lower clubs. Teams in the middle are concerned they will be expected to pay the league a major part of their annual revenue. The concern
here is that the league will lose its competitive balance, which is the foundation of the NFL.

 

Jim Irsay inherited the Indianapolis Colts from his father who moved the club from Baltimore. That move to Indianapolis helped create the situation that included the Browns moving from Cleveland, but now both of those established football towns have teams again. Jim runs a smooth operation. With General Manager Bill Polian, Coach Tony Dungy, and quarterback Peyton Manning, the Colts won Super Bowl XLI. Jim serves on many league committees and works hard on league issues. Indianapolis has been fair with the Colts, who moved to a new stadium in 2008. When I chaired the expansion committee, Mayor Richard Lugar told me truthfully that the only way Indianapolis could get a team was by importing one from another city. I told him he had to do what he needed to do and that the NFL would do what it had to do.

 

Because the Jacksonville market is small, Wayne Weaver, owner of the Jaguars, faces problems. Concerned about revenue, he is uncertain about a financial future without hefty revenue sharing. Wayne denies a rumor that the team is for sale. The team is playing well under Coach Jack Del Rio, but the stadium is too big for the market. It is a struggle to sell out, unless it's Steelers vs. Jaguars, or the Florida-Georgia college football game. When the Jaguars began playing in Jacksonville, the city caught the attention of many new businesses that opened in the city. Development of additional league revenue sharing would give the Jaguars a chance.

 

Lamar Hunt started the Kansas City Chiefs when he put together the American Football League. First the team was in Dallas with the
Cowboys, but two teams there was one too many. Lamar and Clint Murchison flipped a coin, and the Cowboys won. So the Cowboys stayed in Dallas, and Lamar took his team to Kansas City. The city built a huge stadium complex there, which serves as a modern prototype, with one stadium for football and another for baseball. The football team is more competitive than the baseball. After Lamar Hunt died in 2006, his son, Clark, took over the team as president.

 

Wayne Huizenga owns the Miami Dolphins. Having worked with Wayne on a few issues, I have found him to be a stand-up man. He does a thorough job and knows what is right for the Dolphins and the league. When Don Shula coached the Dolphins and Dan Marino was the quarterback, the team went to the Super Bowl only once, but I always knew Dan Marino was a good person and a great quarterback. After Miami beat the Steelers in the 1984 AFC championship game, I thought the Dolphins would go on to win Super Bowl XIX, but they lost to the 49ers. Wayne Huizenga has great ideas and his team should succeed with new coach Cam Cameron.

 

Zygi Wilf now owns the Minnesota Vikings. When the club came into the NFL, my father and George Halas were the expansion committee, and Max Winter was the owner and president of the team. Max was well liked by everyone. He and Art Modell entertained the owners during recesses at league meetings. When Bud Grant was the coach and Jim Finks the general manager, the team played well. Later Mike Lynn became the general manager, and the community built a stadium, but it wasn't well thought out in terms of what was good for the football and baseball teams that use it. The Minnesota Vikings have the makings of a successful team and organization but need a new stadium of their own.

In 1960 the Sullivan family owned the AFL team in Boston, but it was unsuccessful and later moved to Foxborough, Massachusetts. Bob Kraft now owns the New England Patriots. He once threatened to move the team to Connecticut where he could get a new stadium at no cost to him, but things worked out and the team stayed in Foxborough. Coach Bill Belichick was fired for not winning in Cleveland, but his Patriots teams have been extraordinarily successful, with three Super Bowl victories. Bob Kraft is on many NFL major committees, including finance and television. Bob is very intelligent and opinionated, which sometimes gets people upset. Off the field, Bob and his wife, Myra, are charitable people. Their son, Jonathan, is also very involved with the league. He does a good job on NFL issues. Bob and Jonathan let the coach handle the football operations, and with Tom Brady at quarterback the Patriots club should continue to do well.

 

Tom Benson currently owns the New Orleans Saints. Tom is misunderstood sometimes, but he returned the team to his native New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. After the hurricane, Paul Tagliabue helped in every way to make New Orleans a viable market for the NFL. In the face of difficulties, the Saints played well and made the playoffs. The team's future seems bright, and Tom wants to stay in New Orleans. But because the city lacks corporate support, the future may also be difficult. Tom knows and recognizes the Saints' situation. Having others in the league come to understand Tom's struggle has helped the team.

 

Tim Mara was a friend of my father before the Giants or the Steelers were part of the NFL. Jack Mara, Tim's son, ran the business side of the team, and Wellington was the man on the field. All of them are
gone now. John Mara, Wellington's son, now runs the team. Wellington and I were always close. I looked up to him as I would a big brother. He appointed me chairman of negotiations with the NFLPA, and we formed friendships with Gene Upshaw. Half of the interest in the Giants was sold in 1991 to Bob Tisch, who enjoyed his involvement with the team and participated in league matters, especially on the finance side. The club is building a new superclass stadium with the New York Jets in New Jersey.

 

Woody Johnson owns the New York Jets now after buying it from the estate of Leon Hess who was a tough but fair businessman. A member of the commissioner search committee, Woody was always helpful. The Jets are playing good football. The new stadium is going to be expensive, but the club received $300,000 under the G3 program from the league. A lot of debt is accruing throughout the NFL, and that's definitely an issue for the league as it moves forward. Gaining more experience in the football business, Woody wants to become more involved with the league and the team.

 

Al Davis runs the Oakland Raiders, and as many who have dealt with him have come to say, “Al is Al.” He likes to project a bravado image and wants everyone to think he is a tough guy. We have been on a few committees together; most recently the commissioner search committee. While Al was negative, his approach forced us to research and be prepared for his questions in the search. In the end, we worked well. I always appreciated the fact that Al came to my father's funeral—he spent the whole day with our family and even watched the Steelers game with our kids, who really like him. But again, “Al is Al,” and he does things that are questionable, such as his lawsuit against the Steelers, the first time one league team ever sued another. As filed, the suit
was Atkinson, a Raiders player, vs. Chuck Noll. The suit really was Raiders vs. Steelers. The trial was disruptive, which was also intentional. It happened right after we won our first two Super Bowls, but you must realize Al thought the trial was part of the game, part of the attack. However, we prevailed. Davis went on from there to sue the league numerous times, principally about his attempt to move the team to any place he wanted. The NFL won most of the cases but lost the suit that allowed Al to go to Los Angeles. He then returned the team to Oakland and sued that city. Al made life very difficult for Pete Rozelle, who always put the overall interest of the league ahead of any one owner's self interest.

 

Many owners followed Bert Bell, the first owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Jeffrey Lurie now owns the team. The Eagles and the Steelers entered the league in the same year, 1933. In 1940, after a switch of the Steelers-Eagles franchises, Lex Thompson owned the Philadelphia team. In 1943, to help the NFL during World War II, the Steelers combined with the Eagles, becoming the Steagles, and the combination helped the league survive. After Thompson, a large number of owners, headed by Bill Green, followed: Jerry Wolman, Leonard Tose, Norm Braman, and now Jeffrey Lurie. Andy Reid coaches the Eagles, a fine team that should continue to do well in the future.

 

Georgia Frontiere owns the St. Louis Rams, and John Shaw runs the team. Beginning as the Cleveland Rams, the team went to Los Angeles, where it competed successfully. At the time Dan Reeves, who was a real visionary, owned and operated the team. As the West's first NFL team, the Rams were the first to employ Tex Schramm and Pete Rozelle. Reeves was ahead of all the other teams in researching
college players for the draft. Then Carroll Rosenbloom acquired the team. On his death his widow, Georgia, inherited the club. John Shaw operates the team and is a proponent of revenue sharing.

 

The Spanos family owns the San Diego Chargers, and the family members are decent people and very smart. I like Alex Spanos, whose business is real estate home development. As well as building in the West, he now is building on the East Coast. His son, Dean, does a good job of running the team. Dean's wife, Susie, does much for the club in community service. Even after an excellent regular season record in 2006, the club fired Coach Marty Schottenheimer. They have a new staff headed by Norv Turner.

 

The Morabito brothers started the team in the AAFC. The team did well when my friend Lou Spadia ran it. At the time, the 49ers had what may have been the best backfield ever in the league. It included Frankie Albert, Y. A. Tittle as quarterback, John Henry Johnson, Joe Perry, and “King” Hugh McElhenny. The whole offense was great; the defense, which could have been better, was okay. Denise York, Eddie DeBartolo's sister, now owns the 49ers. Her husband, Dr. John York, operates the club. Denise and Eddie divided assets after Eddie stepped down, and she took the team. It has a serious problem in continuing to play in the old Candlestick stadium, which was originally built for baseball games. The team is looking to stay in Northern California and may build in Santa Clara where their team offices are.

 

Paul Allen, who is interested in getting involved with the team and the league, now owns the Seattle Seahawks, the northernmost NFL team. CEO Tod Leiweke operates the club. The team just moved into
a new stadium, which is very functional. The team is very good in part because of the good work done by Coach Mike Holmgren. The Seahawks played a competitive game against the Steelers in Super Bowl XL. Paul Allen has committed himself to fair dealings and success on the field and throughout the organization. I think the team has a good organization and a bright future.

 

The Glazer family owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a family that does things differently but is effective. Joel Glazer runs the team. Recently, the family purchased the Manchester United soccer team. Because the league wants its members close to the football business, the purchase is controversial. I have had some dealings with the Glazers, and everything was fine. Since they purchased the Tampa team, I have had no problems. The club built a new stadium, played in the Super Bowl, and has a bright outlook.

 

Bud Adams owns the Tennessee Titans. One of the originals of the AFL, the team began as the Houston Oilers. Because Bud could not get a new stadium in Houston, he moved to Tennessee. After playing one year in Memphis, they shifted their games to Nashville and a new stadium a year later. Coach Jeff Fisher has done a good job on the field and is the chairman of the football area of the competition committee. The new stadium has been a big help, and the Titans should do well in the future.

 

The Washington Redskins started in 1933 in Boston and moved to Washington in 1937. George Preston Marshall, a great showman, was the first owner. He formed the Redskins band and composed a song, “Hail to the Redskins.” Along with Halas, Marshall was very
influential in early league matters. The two men tried to run the league. When Sammy Baugh was the quarterback, the Redskins had a good team; however, the club did not have an African-American player on the team until 1962. Lacking players of color became an embarrassment to the NFL. Jack Kent Cooke, a difficult person at times, then bought the team. When Jack died, his charitable foundation sold the team to Dan Snyder, who operates it today. Coach Joe Gibbs won Super Bowls before retiring after the 1992 season, but he was brought back in 2004 by Dan Snyder. Dan is a good guy, often quiet, but he speaks up when he feels he has something important to say. Sitting on the league's ventures committee, Dan contributes helpful opinions, and he desperately wants a winning football team.

AAFC.
See
All-American Football Conference

ABC

Abercrombie, Walter

Adams, Bud

AFC. See
American Football Conference

AFL.
See
American Football League