List of current NFL franchise owners
The following is a list of current owners of National Football League (NFL) franchises: [15][16] The NFL forbids corporations, religious groups, governments, and non-profit organizations from owning stakes in teams.[38] The NFL requires a controlling owner to hold at minimum a 30% stake in the team and forbids ownership groups of over 24 people; one team, the Green Bay Packers, is exempt from this under a grandfather clause and is owned by shareholders.[39] Institutional investors were historically forbidden from purchasing stakes in NFL teams until an August 2024 rule change; that December, it approved the sale of portions of the Dolphins and Buffalo Bills to private equity firms.[41] Soccer has been exempt from these restrictions since 1982, when the league lost a lawsuit filed by the original NASL stemming from the investments of Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt and Elizabeth Robbie, the wife of Miami Dolphins founder Joe Robbie in NASL teams;[42] as a result, NFL owners have owned teams in MLS in other NFL markets.[43] The league also informally requires prospective owners to have high liquidity in their assets and positive cash flow; having a majority of one's wealth invested in real estate is often grounds for rejection.