The NFL has never had a Black owner. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said after last week’s Super Bowl that the league would “love to see a diverse owner” take over the Denver Broncos, which are for sale.

He has met with Byron Allen, a media executive, and other African-American potential owners of the NFL.

In spite of Rooney’s rules, regulations, and halftime concerts featuring Black artists, the NFL still has a racism problem.

An African-American owner is the NFL’s next novel concept to combat the inherent and systemic racism in its hiring processes.

7/10 players in league are people of color. Only three out of the 32 coaches are Black or bi-racial in origin. The NFL has never had a Black owner.

On Super Bowl Sunday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he’d “love” for the Denver Broncos to be owned by a “diverse owner.”

Some of the other prospective Black owners of the NFL, such as media mogul Byron Allen, have also visited with him

New York Post reports NFL is attempting to persuade billionaire black businessman and former Denver resident Robert F. Smith, who now resides in Austin, Texas, to acquire the Broncos.

Brian Flores’ lawsuit against three NFL teams alleging racial discrimination in the appointment of coaches and highlighting the absence of Black owners is now being touted as a solution to this problem.

“Ensure diversity of ownership by forming and supporting a committee committed to seeking Black investors to purchase majority ownership stakes in NFL Teams,” as suggested in the Flores complaint, is a solution.

Black coaches will continue to be overlooked and underrepresented until there is sufficient ownership representation.

It will be difficult enough to get one Black owner. It’s impossible to have numerous Black owners. There are 32 NFL franchises worth an average of $3.5 billion each.

The Broncos are estimated to cost more than $4 billion to acquire.

Only seven African-Americans are included among the country’s billionaires by Forbes.
This leads us back to the core issue.

In order to hire the best and brightest employees, white business owners must find it in their hearts and minds to consider race as only one factor among many.

And white coaches must be willing to provide coveted coordinator positions to qualified Black coaches in order to build a pipeline of future Black coaches.

When it came to Eric Bieniemy and Byron Leftwich, the offensive coordinators for the 2020 and 2021 Super Bowl champions, that didn’t make a dent in their success.

Neither of them was satisfied until they saw white Los Angeles Rams assistant coach Kevin O’Connell become head coach of the Minnesota Vikings prior to the game’s conclusion.

A lawsuit by Flores is a smart first step. In other words, it’s an indication that Black coaches have had enough and are ready to throw in the towel.

The NFL’s hiring of former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch to represent it in court against charges of racism shows that it is capable of locating a suitable Black candidate when the need arises.

Owners of Color In The NFL

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan and Buffalo Bills owner Kim Pegula are the only minority owners in the NFL.

Shahid Khan is an American- Pakistani and Kim Pegula  is Korean.