NFL Bylaw Change Could Keep Ownership Families in the Game

A change in the NFL’s bylaws could keep legacy ownership families in the game.

NFL owners voted to lower the required amount that a controlling owner must hold from 5% to 1%, a move intended to allow families with longstanding histories in the league to retain their teams.

• The rule only applies to teams that have had the same owner group for 10 years or more.
• Those same teams must also have 30% of the franchise controlled by the owning family’s members. 
• Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II indicated that there was little momentum to change that rule.

The move aims to soften the potential estate tax hit from people inheriting ownership stakes from family members. With the average team value soaring to $3.5 billion, per Forbes, taxes on inherited wealth can become unaffordable for team owner descendants.

Good News for Bears Owner

The change could impact the fate of the Chicago Bears. Owner Virginia McCaskey, 99, would like to keep the team in the family. 

Under the previous rules, the team’s $4.1 billion valuation would require each family member inheriting the team to hold at least a $205 million stake in the club. The amendment reduces that amount to $41 million.