Angry Pope
All Raider
- Joined
- Feb 2, 2006
- Messages
- 8,458
- Reaction score
- 546
Money men
Evaluating and ranking all the NFL owners, from 1-32
Michael Silver
Posted: Monday July 2, 2007 12:15PM; Updated: Monday July 2, 2007 12:22PM
Ten months ago, amid the muggy tyranny of summer and the unrelenting heat of a high-profile holdout, the shrewd men who manage the New England Patriots made one of their rare missteps.
With wideout Deion Branch looking for far more money than the Pats were willing to pay, owner Robert Kraft signed off on a peculiar strategy. Last Aug. 25, the team announced it had given Branch and his agents a one-week window to seek a trade and negotiate a contract with another team.
In what proved to be a massive miscalculation of Branch's free-market value, the Patriots seethed as the Jets and Seahawks swooped in to make fat offers. Eventually, in a move that angered star quarterback Tom Brady and many of his teammates, the Patriots sent Branch to Seattle for a first-round pick in the '07 draft.
When all was said and done, Kraft and his heavily involved eldest son, team president Jonathan, could justify their decision thusly: They didn't believe Branch was more valuable than last April's 24th-overall pick, and they certainly didn't think he was worth the six-year, $39 million deal he got from the Seahawks. Look at it this way: At the time Branch signed that contract, he was scheduled to pull in more cash over the following three seasons than any other receiver in football.
Yet, as Kraft watched last January's AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis -- with Reche Caldwell dropping key passes and New England lacking a first-rate wideout when Brady most needed one -- the owner was smart and realistic enough to understand this harsh truth: The decision to part with Branch may well have cost his team a fourth Super Bowl championship in six seasons.
Kraft's reaction? The Pats went out and beefed up their roster with one of the most aggressive and productive offseasons in NFL history, including a marquee signing (do-everything linebacker Adalius Thomas) and the acquisition of four receivers capable of having a big impact: Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Kelley Washington. Best of all, New England pulled it off without screwing up its cap-savvy salary structure -- and somehow came away with an extra first-round pick in the '08 draft.
It is proactive behavior like this that makes Kraft a fan favorite -- and, as with last year, the man at the top of our annual NFL Owner Rankings. Once again, many factors are considered -- business savvy, devotion to league growth, aggressive pursuit of winning -- with one overriding consideration: If you're a fan of the team in question, do you want this person (or people) making the big decisions.
1. Robert Kraft (Jonathan Kraft), Patriots
First of all -- and this is an entire column topic for the future -- can we all raise our hands and agree that the switch from Paul Tagliabue to Roger Goodell has been one of the better things to happen to the league in recent memory? Most owners and league insiders would endorse that statement, and Kraft has long been one of the new commissioner's most trusted advisors on big-picture matters ranging from television to labor negotiations.
As for on-the-field matters, even if you believe that Randy Moss is the exact type of player you wouldn't want in a team atmosphere -- as I do -- you have to concede that Kraft got a ton of potential value for relatively little financial risk, even if Moss acts like a jerk and the Patriots cut him. Assuming Brady and coach Bill Belichick hang around for the next five to 10 years, Kraft has a chance to score a record number of Lombardi Trophies for a franchise that barely sniffed a title before he took over. Perhaps even more improbably, he and Jonathan are in the process of making Foxborough, Mass., a nice place to visit, thanks to the $350 million that will build Patriot Place, a retail and entertainment complex in the shadow of Gillette Stadium.
2. Jerry Jones (Stephen Jones), Cowboys
Keeping up with the Joneses is about to become that much tougher for the rest of the owners. When the Cowboys' $1 billion stadium in Arlington opens in 2009, it promises to be the sweetest and most profitable outdoor facility in the land, what with its state-of-the-art architectural touches, sliding roofs and playing fields, monstrous video screens, tricked-out club areas (which players pass through on their way to the field). It'll have a seating capacity of 80,000 for regular season games and more than 100,000 for Super Bowls -- beginning with Super Bowl XLV in 2011, which Jones helped the region land in May. (Jerry's eldest son, Stephen, the team's executive vice president, spearheaded the stadium deal.)
The best thing for Cowboys fans is that Jones will take much of the money that comes pouring in and put it back into his product. He'll do the same with the extra cash he didn't have to pay his former coach after Bill Parcells blinked first last January and resigned without a buyout. (Yeah, I know it wasn't reported that way, but it was a staredown, and Jones won.)
Things haven't been as bountiful on the field for the Cowboys lately as they were in the '90s, but it's not because Jones isn't trying. Besides, how cool is a boss who encourages his emerging-star quarterback to live it up off the field?
3. Jerry Richardson (Mark Richardson), Panthers
Charlotte is a small market, but you'd never know it from the way Richardson runs his business. Unlike so many of his sniveling peers, Richardson doesn't whine about his potential revenue disadvantages. Instead, he finds a way to make it work financially while fielding a habitually competitive team.
While Mark, Jerry's second-eldest son and the team's president, expertly handles the bulk of the Panthers' day-to-day operations (and helped nail down a lucrative naming-rights deal with Bank of America in '04), his dad does a great job representing the team on a league level. It was Jerry, the co-chair of the commissioner search committee (along with the Steelers' Dan Rooney), who expertly drove that process in a way that left no owner feeling disenfranchised. By reaching out and soliciting the input of so many of his peers, Richardson helped ensure that everyone felt good about Goodell's selection. That widespread base of support is already paying off for the new commissioner as he beefs up the league's disciplinary policies.
4. Bryan, Joel and Ed Glazer, Buccaneers
While their father, Malcolm, sadly lies in a coma, the Glazer brothers have honored his legacy as a smart businessman who was willing to spend big money to compete at the highest level. Rather than fight amongst each other for control, as we've seen happen in other situations of this nature, Bryan, Joel and Ed have pulled off a smooth transition at a difficult time.
The Bucs backslid badly on the field in '06, and onetime Golden Child Jon Gruden could lose his head-coaching job if there isn't marked improvement this year -- a sign that the Glazers aren't getting complacent after finally winning their first Super Bowl five years ago. Last year they upgraed the Bucs old training facility -- a glorified trailer next to a jumbo-jet landing strip -- by opening a gorgeous facility that measures nearly 150,000 square feet (or the size of the typical Tampa gentleman's club).
Meanwhile, the family that was roundly blasted in the UK upon acquiring a majority share of Manchester United two years ago is presiding over a bloody good show: United just won the Premier League and the brand has never been hotter. (While Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms and possibly Jake Plummer battle it out to see who runs the Bucs' flailing offense, there's no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is The Man for Man U.)
5. Daniel Snyder, Redskins
If anything, Snyder tries too hard to build a winner. In January '06, when Snyder wooed former Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders with a three-year deal worth more than $2 million annually, it seemed like a great move on paper. Instead, Saunders' philosophy clashed with that of head coach Joe Gibbs, which was one reason the team fell from a playoff appearance in '05 to a 5-11 finish last season. Snyder's zealous mentality also enables Gibbs and VP of football operations Vinny Cerrato to overpay for free agents like Adam Archuleta, Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd, none of which helps the on-field product.
But hey, at least he's trying. Snyder will get it right eventually, if only because he won't settle for anything less -- a quality far too owners possess. And he is pulling in an enormous profit in the meantime, thanks to his innovative marketing strategies. He's also more of a team player on the league level than you might imagine, as evidenced by his willingness to go along with the revenue-sharing plan that ensured labor peace in the spring of '06.
6. Jeffrey Lurie, Eagles
Philly has been hit with some tough circumstances over the past eight months: Franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb's ACL tear (and ensuing drama over his perceived job security, or lack thereof) and Andy Reid's five-and-a-half-week leave of absence this winter as two of the coach's sons faced legal and substance-abuse issues. But Lurie's steady, reasoned ownership style, and the excellent management approach of team president Joe Banner, will keep the organization humming.
The Eagles, for better or worse, stick to a rigid system of player valuation, and it works for them. Lurie is a positive, progressive force in league circles who generates revenue through Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in '03 after the team sank $310 million into the project.
cont'd...
Evaluating and ranking all the NFL owners, from 1-32
Michael Silver
Posted: Monday July 2, 2007 12:15PM; Updated: Monday July 2, 2007 12:22PM
Ten months ago, amid the muggy tyranny of summer and the unrelenting heat of a high-profile holdout, the shrewd men who manage the New England Patriots made one of their rare missteps.
With wideout Deion Branch looking for far more money than the Pats were willing to pay, owner Robert Kraft signed off on a peculiar strategy. Last Aug. 25, the team announced it had given Branch and his agents a one-week window to seek a trade and negotiate a contract with another team.
In what proved to be a massive miscalculation of Branch's free-market value, the Patriots seethed as the Jets and Seahawks swooped in to make fat offers. Eventually, in a move that angered star quarterback Tom Brady and many of his teammates, the Patriots sent Branch to Seattle for a first-round pick in the '07 draft.
When all was said and done, Kraft and his heavily involved eldest son, team president Jonathan, could justify their decision thusly: They didn't believe Branch was more valuable than last April's 24th-overall pick, and they certainly didn't think he was worth the six-year, $39 million deal he got from the Seahawks. Look at it this way: At the time Branch signed that contract, he was scheduled to pull in more cash over the following three seasons than any other receiver in football.
Yet, as Kraft watched last January's AFC Championship Game in Indianapolis -- with Reche Caldwell dropping key passes and New England lacking a first-rate wideout when Brady most needed one -- the owner was smart and realistic enough to understand this harsh truth: The decision to part with Branch may well have cost his team a fourth Super Bowl championship in six seasons.
Kraft's reaction? The Pats went out and beefed up their roster with one of the most aggressive and productive offseasons in NFL history, including a marquee signing (do-everything linebacker Adalius Thomas) and the acquisition of four receivers capable of having a big impact: Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Kelley Washington. Best of all, New England pulled it off without screwing up its cap-savvy salary structure -- and somehow came away with an extra first-round pick in the '08 draft.
It is proactive behavior like this that makes Kraft a fan favorite -- and, as with last year, the man at the top of our annual NFL Owner Rankings. Once again, many factors are considered -- business savvy, devotion to league growth, aggressive pursuit of winning -- with one overriding consideration: If you're a fan of the team in question, do you want this person (or people) making the big decisions.
1. Robert Kraft (Jonathan Kraft), Patriots
First of all -- and this is an entire column topic for the future -- can we all raise our hands and agree that the switch from Paul Tagliabue to Roger Goodell has been one of the better things to happen to the league in recent memory? Most owners and league insiders would endorse that statement, and Kraft has long been one of the new commissioner's most trusted advisors on big-picture matters ranging from television to labor negotiations.
As for on-the-field matters, even if you believe that Randy Moss is the exact type of player you wouldn't want in a team atmosphere -- as I do -- you have to concede that Kraft got a ton of potential value for relatively little financial risk, even if Moss acts like a jerk and the Patriots cut him. Assuming Brady and coach Bill Belichick hang around for the next five to 10 years, Kraft has a chance to score a record number of Lombardi Trophies for a franchise that barely sniffed a title before he took over. Perhaps even more improbably, he and Jonathan are in the process of making Foxborough, Mass., a nice place to visit, thanks to the $350 million that will build Patriot Place, a retail and entertainment complex in the shadow of Gillette Stadium.
2. Jerry Jones (Stephen Jones), Cowboys
Keeping up with the Joneses is about to become that much tougher for the rest of the owners. When the Cowboys' $1 billion stadium in Arlington opens in 2009, it promises to be the sweetest and most profitable outdoor facility in the land, what with its state-of-the-art architectural touches, sliding roofs and playing fields, monstrous video screens, tricked-out club areas (which players pass through on their way to the field). It'll have a seating capacity of 80,000 for regular season games and more than 100,000 for Super Bowls -- beginning with Super Bowl XLV in 2011, which Jones helped the region land in May. (Jerry's eldest son, Stephen, the team's executive vice president, spearheaded the stadium deal.)
The best thing for Cowboys fans is that Jones will take much of the money that comes pouring in and put it back into his product. He'll do the same with the extra cash he didn't have to pay his former coach after Bill Parcells blinked first last January and resigned without a buyout. (Yeah, I know it wasn't reported that way, but it was a staredown, and Jones won.)
Things haven't been as bountiful on the field for the Cowboys lately as they were in the '90s, but it's not because Jones isn't trying. Besides, how cool is a boss who encourages his emerging-star quarterback to live it up off the field?
3. Jerry Richardson (Mark Richardson), Panthers
Charlotte is a small market, but you'd never know it from the way Richardson runs his business. Unlike so many of his sniveling peers, Richardson doesn't whine about his potential revenue disadvantages. Instead, he finds a way to make it work financially while fielding a habitually competitive team.
While Mark, Jerry's second-eldest son and the team's president, expertly handles the bulk of the Panthers' day-to-day operations (and helped nail down a lucrative naming-rights deal with Bank of America in '04), his dad does a great job representing the team on a league level. It was Jerry, the co-chair of the commissioner search committee (along with the Steelers' Dan Rooney), who expertly drove that process in a way that left no owner feeling disenfranchised. By reaching out and soliciting the input of so many of his peers, Richardson helped ensure that everyone felt good about Goodell's selection. That widespread base of support is already paying off for the new commissioner as he beefs up the league's disciplinary policies.
4. Bryan, Joel and Ed Glazer, Buccaneers
While their father, Malcolm, sadly lies in a coma, the Glazer brothers have honored his legacy as a smart businessman who was willing to spend big money to compete at the highest level. Rather than fight amongst each other for control, as we've seen happen in other situations of this nature, Bryan, Joel and Ed have pulled off a smooth transition at a difficult time.
The Bucs backslid badly on the field in '06, and onetime Golden Child Jon Gruden could lose his head-coaching job if there isn't marked improvement this year -- a sign that the Glazers aren't getting complacent after finally winning their first Super Bowl five years ago. Last year they upgraed the Bucs old training facility -- a glorified trailer next to a jumbo-jet landing strip -- by opening a gorgeous facility that measures nearly 150,000 square feet (or the size of the typical Tampa gentleman's club).
Meanwhile, the family that was roundly blasted in the UK upon acquiring a majority share of Manchester United two years ago is presiding over a bloody good show: United just won the Premier League and the brand has never been hotter. (While Jeff Garcia, Chris Simms and possibly Jake Plummer battle it out to see who runs the Bucs' flailing offense, there's no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo is The Man for Man U.)
5. Daniel Snyder, Redskins
If anything, Snyder tries too hard to build a winner. In January '06, when Snyder wooed former Chiefs offensive coordinator Al Saunders with a three-year deal worth more than $2 million annually, it seemed like a great move on paper. Instead, Saunders' philosophy clashed with that of head coach Joe Gibbs, which was one reason the team fell from a playoff appearance in '05 to a 5-11 finish last season. Snyder's zealous mentality also enables Gibbs and VP of football operations Vinny Cerrato to overpay for free agents like Adam Archuleta, Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd, none of which helps the on-field product.
But hey, at least he's trying. Snyder will get it right eventually, if only because he won't settle for anything less -- a quality far too owners possess. And he is pulling in an enormous profit in the meantime, thanks to his innovative marketing strategies. He's also more of a team player on the league level than you might imagine, as evidenced by his willingness to go along with the revenue-sharing plan that ensured labor peace in the spring of '06.
6. Jeffrey Lurie, Eagles
Philly has been hit with some tough circumstances over the past eight months: Franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb's ACL tear (and ensuing drama over his perceived job security, or lack thereof) and Andy Reid's five-and-a-half-week leave of absence this winter as two of the coach's sons faced legal and substance-abuse issues. But Lurie's steady, reasoned ownership style, and the excellent management approach of team president Joe Banner, will keep the organization humming.
The Eagles, for better or worse, stick to a rigid system of player valuation, and it works for them. Lurie is a positive, progressive force in league circles who generates revenue through Lincoln Financial Field, which opened in '03 after the team sank $310 million into the project.
cont'd...
