There’s big money in sports. And in football, a big chunk of that money sits in a few hands. All but 1 of the 32 NFL teams are privately owned.
Collectively, the NFL made about $13 billion in 2023 before selling a single ticket; total revenue was more like $23 billion. The model for this estimate comes largely from the Green Bay Packers, the only NFL team that is publicly owned and, therefore, has an obligation to share its financial performance. The rest of the teams hold their cards close to their privately-guarded chests.
This coming weekend is football’s biggest game of the year – Super Bowl LIX. Wanna buy an ad? It’ll cost you $8 million for a 30 second spot that will get you 123.7 million pairs of eyeballs.
So, who’s behind this year’s Super Bowl contenders, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs?
The Philadelphia Eagles has been owned by Jeffrey Lurie since 1994.
Purchased for $185 million, Lurie comes from family money – a drive-in movie business started by his grandfather.
Interestingly in these new non-DEI times, Lurie’s background is in social policy. His university thesis was about the depiction of women in Hollywood films. He produced 2 award-winning social statement movies – ‘The Inside Job’ about the 2008 financial crisis, and ‘Inocente’, a film about an undocumented teenager.
Today, his net worth is $5.3 billion. Despite Lurie’s riches, the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles franchise has been a tremendous supporter of autism (a condition which his brother has).
The Kansas City Chiefs NFL franchise is co-owned by Clark Hunt and his siblings.
Clark is the grandson of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt. His net worth is only $1.4 billion, a quarter of that of Jeffrey Lurie … but, hey, who’s counting? He shares his inherited NFL proceeds with his brother Daniel Hunt, his step-brother Lamar Hunt Jr. and his step-sister Sharron Hunt Munson.
Grandaddy left home at 16, taking odd jobs as a mule skinner and lumberjack. Without any formal education, he had a natural talent for math and a penchant for gambling, which eventually provided him with an opportunity to win a $50 bet and take a stake in an oil field. The rest is history. And there was plenty of smut along the way, including being a closet polygamist. Oh yeah, in addition to wearing cheap suits, he took his lunch to work in a brown paper bag and drove himself there in a modest car.
Interestingly, the origins of the Super Bowl lie with Clark’s father, Lamar Hunt. Back in the 1960s there were 2 competing football leagues: the American Football League (a rival group which Hunt helped create after the NFL refused to grant him an expansion team in Dallas) and the National Football League.
The two leagues eventually merged. Along the way the winners of the AFL and NFL played each other – the tournament was initially called the ‘AFL-NFL World Championship Game’, but became known as the ‘Super Bowl’ by the time the 3rd annual Game was played in 1969, inspired by Lamar’s children’s ‘Super Ball’ toy.
It’s amazing how history is made, don’t you agree?
Now that you’ve read today’s blog, why not take what you’ve learned and play today’s matching quiz on your Quizefy app? Many of the answers can be found right here. We publish an on-trend, hint-filled blog at www.quizefy.com every Tuesday, along with a matching quiz in your Quizefy app. We think they’re a great combination and a great way to Strut Your Smart.