A look at the 10 richest owners in sports and how their teams are doing

There’s rich, and then there’s wealthy. And then there’s “team owner money.”

Forbes just released its latest rankings of the richest sports owners who made the 2022 400 List, and more than 10 percent of them own teams. It’s an annual list of the select few who control the sports world, as their net worths are numbers so large that they don’t make sense in real life.

For instance, what does $1 billion even look like? Is that the amount that Uncle Scrooge had in his vault on DuckTales?

Probably.

But as you’ll see from the list below, just because an owner is loaded, it doesn’t mean that their teams are super successful. Most of the time, revenue doesn’t translate to wins.

However, there is a caveat. For instance, Major League Baseball doesn’t have a salary cap. So, if a team owner is loaded and actually cares about winning, they can clean up in free agency and buy the best players and managers on the market. In the NFL, the cap for this season has been set at $208.2 million. And in the NBA, the salary cap for this year is $123.655 million, and is expected to jump to $134 million for 2023-24. In that league, you can win by being frugal and by living lavishly.

Here are the 10 wealthiest owners in sports. And as you’ll see, just because they’re enjoying games from their luxury boxes, it doesn’t always mean they’re leaving them after seeing a victory.

Newsflash: The Jaguars seem to be good at football and are 2-1 atop the AFC South, largely in part to the hiring of Doug Pederson, and the growth of quarterback Trevor Lawrence. This almost seems like a miracle after last season’s 3-14 season that included the disastrous hiring and firing of disgraced coach Urban Meyer. One bad apple can poison an orchard. [Editor’s note: While not a “sport,” per se, Khan is also co-owner of All Elite Wrestling with his son, Tony.]

Ross is still under suspension for tampering after it was discovered that he was secretly trying to get Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady and former New Orleans Saints head coach and current broadcaster Sean Payton to sign with his franchise. He’s also been removed from four committees he serves on. However, the Dolphins are playing well despite their owner’s shenanigans as they’re 3-1 on the season. Though, there’s something we need to talk about...

Since this dude owns a lot of teams, we’ll just skip to how the major ones in America are doing. The Rams won the Super Bowl last season and are currently 2-1. The Nuggets have the two-time MVP, but can’t get over the hump in the west. And the Avalanche just won the Stanley Cup. [Editor’s note: While not part of the “Big 4” American sports, the Rapids have won an MLS cup and the Colorado Mammoth have snagged two National Lacrosse League championships under Silent Stan’s ownership.]

For as well-known as Jones and his team are, it’s a little shocking to see them this low on the list. But at the same time, the Dallas Cowboys are arguably — definitely? — the most popular and overhyped team in all of sports. After losing to the 49ers in the playoffs last season, Dallas is surprisingly 2-1 this year without the services of Dak Prescott who is still out with an injury. The franchise is still seeking its first Super Bowl victory since the 90s and first playoff win since 2019.

Gilbert is known for being the guy who owns Quicken Loans as much as people remember him for writing that stupid letter when LeBron left the Cavs for the Miami Heat during “The Decision.” Under Gilbert’s ownership, the Cavs have only been relevant when James was on the roster. (The franchise’s 2016 title was the city’s first major sports crown since 1964). However, things changed last season when they made it to the play-in game. An off-season trade that landed Donovan Mitchell in Cleveland has fans excited about what could be in 2022-2023.

After failing to make the playoffs last season, the perpetual underdog Mets are in a dog fight at the top of the NL East with the Atlanta Braves. Both teams clinched a playoff spot and as of Sept. 29, N.Y. was 98-58 on the year. By next week we’ll know if the Amazins will have hung on and made the postseason, or collapsed in the ninth inning.

At age 44, Pera is one of the youngest members of this exclusive club. It’s also fitting that he has one of the youngest and most exciting teams in the NBA, led by Ja Morant. Last season, Memphis was the No. 2 seed in the West before falling to eventual champions Golden State in six games in the conference semifinals.

In his first season as the owner of the Broncos, the heir to the Walmart throne is in control of a team that agreed to pay Russell Wilson $245 million in the offseason along with hiring the worst coach in the NFL — Nathaniel Hackett. Denver is currently 2-1, and it’s a miracle that they aren’t 0-3 with the HC’s clock management issues and some sloppy play.

No matter how much better the Clippers have been recently, they’re still the Clippers. Coming into this season, once again, the other team in L.A. will be a title contender — if they can stay healthy. They finished last regular season with a 42-40 record. Their season ended when they fell in the play-in games to the Timberwolves and Pelicans. Will this year be different?