Richest NFL Owners and Their Crypto Investments

When the National Football League was born back in 1920 and the American Football League began in 1960, you couldn’t give franchises away in some cases. Teams folded, teams relocated, and teams borrowed money, all in the name of trying to keep the league(s) afloat

Now, with legalized gambling helping to fuel an exponential growth in pro football, a prospective owner’s portfolio better be flush with “B’s,” as in billions. 

NFL team owners won’t be seen clipping coupons (real or virtual) out of the Sunday paper or placing bets on BetUS NFL Sportsbook. Along with investments in professional football are far-flung financial speculations by the richest NFL owners in any number of entities, including cryptocurrency. Crypto, including Bitcoin, is a digital form of currency without a central bank behind it available in a (theoretical) finite number  

Crypto is incredibly speculative and, quite frankly, foreign to the “average” person (though the U.S. Internal Revenue Service does offer a “frequently asked questions” tutorial on the subject). 

However, any number of pro football owners find themselves highly leveraged in this form of currency.  Here’s a look at the subject…

Which NFL Owner Is the Wealthiest?

When the subject is NFL owners’ net worth, start by shopping at Walmart. Rob Walton, a member of the Walton family, purchased the Denver Broncos in 2022 (price tag of $4.65 billion). That didn’t do much to affect his checking account balance, estimated at more than $77 billion.

David Tepper (Carolina Panthers). Hunt family (Kansas City Chiefs) and Jody Allen (Seattle Seahawks) each “only” have about $20 billion in the change jar, while the next tier has to get by in the $10 billion range. That includes the New England Patriots Robert Kraft net worth of approximately $11 billion.

Who is the Richest NFL Team?

Despite not winning a Super Bowl in three decades and underachieving season after underachieving season, it’s the Dallas Cowboys, valued at $10 billion in 2024, as the “richest” of the 32 teams in the NFL.

Among the wealthiest NFL owners, Dallas’ Jerry Jones checks in at around $13 billion. As a reminder, the sale price of The Boys back in 1989 was $140 million. 

Which NFL Owners Are Investing in Cryptocurrency?

Among the richest NFL owners and teams, research has suggested the Dallas Cowboys were the first franchise with a crypto partnership, making Blockchain.com their “exclusive digital asset partner” back in 2021. 

Before that, back in 2019, the Miami Dolphins began accepting crypto as ticket and merchandise payments. Forward two seasons to 2023, when an estimated 30 percent of the league’s 32 teams had some sort of connection with crypto. 

They were (alphabetically) Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, both Los Angeles (Chargers and Rams), and Miami Dolphins. New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Commanders.

The New York Giants sponsors include cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments.

Even the league itself has its partnerships, including Bitpanda (NFL games in Europe).

Any Final Thoughts?

Suggesting the world of cryptocurrency is somewhat of a wild-west enterprise, complete with the crypto cowboy, Among the celebrities who lost big in FTX or have been sued after endorsing the now-bankrupt crypto hedge fund and exchange, including Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady, Larry David, Shohei Otani, Stephen Curry, and Shaquille O’Neal.

There are more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies to invest in today, many either new, extremely risky, or both. However, as cryptocurrency continues to be more accepted in the mainstream, accept that the NFL and its teams are going to embrace the industry.