With the recent death of Wellington Mara it appears to the casual observer that for the moment the New York Football Giants do not have an owner. Certainly Mr. Mara had a will, but has it been revealed yet who will inherit the team? (I did a quick Google search but came up empty.) Will the club be put on the market and moved to Hawaii? (I’m kidding. The team just signed a lease for a new stadium to be constructed near their current home.)
I note that some other NFL owners are getting long in tooth, too. (I’m looking at you, Al Davis (Oak), Ralph Wilson (Buff) and Lamar Hunt (KC)). What’s the speculation on who’ll eventually own those clubs and if they’ll stay in their current locations?
The short answer is that his share of the Giants are owned by his Estate. How the estate will distribute it to his heirs will be determined by the will and probate process.
Did you know he had eleven children and forty grand children? :eek:
Wellington Mara hadn’t been the controlling partner of the Giants for some time. His nephew Tim Mara, who used to be half-owner, sold his share of the team to Bob Tisch, who has been managing partner of the Giants for years.
Ralph Wilson is the original owner of the Buffalo Bills, he paid $2500 at the time. He wanted the Miami franchise but was beaten to it. Quietly in the 60’s when Oakland was having a problem he loaned Al Davis a shitload of money to keep them solvent.
Mr. Wilson is in excellent health in his early 80’s. A few years ago the Buffalo News wrote an article speculating and wondering what will become of the Bills when he dies. The following week he wrote a tounge in cheek letter to the editor a la Mark Twain that the rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated. It was pretty funny.
He has turned down flat any and all offers to buy into the team. In short nobody knows what will happen.
While for the Bills’ fans’ sake and his own sake I hope Wilson’s good health continues for many years to come, in light of the actuarial tables and the history of sports franchise moves (see Cleveland Browns, Baltimore-Indianapolis Colts, Oakland-LA-Oakland Raiders, Brooklyn-LA Dodgers, Cleveland-LA-Anaheim-St.Louis Rams etc) it was not, and is not, out of line to consider the problem.
Giants co-owner Tisch has now passed away as well. Link
While the story says that the team will be co-owned by the Mara and Tisch families, having two families as co-owners is an inherently unstable management situation. My sympathies to both families.