Ranking AFC owners within each division

Many important factors are involved in fielding a great team in the NFL, from scouting and drafting to player development and coaching. However, perhaps the most important factor is quality ownership. A bad owner can sink a franchise, while a good one can help a team soar.

Ahead of the league's annual owners' meetings in Palm Beach, Florida (March 30-April 2), Yardbarker NFL writers rank the owners within each AFC division. 

2024 regular-season records are in parentheses.

AFC East

1. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS  (4-13) | Robert Kraft | Kraft held season tickets for 23 years before buying the Patriots in 1994 and has six Lombardi trophies over 31 years of ownership. The team is coming off a third straight losing campaign, but it has just six losing seasons under Kraft’s watch.

2. BUFFALO BILLS (13-4) | Terry Pegula | Pegula started his Bills tenure with five straight seasons of single-digit wins but followed it up by winning 10 or more games (with playoff appearances) in six consecutive seasons. Under his ownership, the team drafted 2024 NFL MVP QB Josh Allen, who, if not for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, would probably have a Super Bowl MVP, too.

3. MIAMI DOLPHINS (8-9) | Stephen Ross | On the field, things couldn’t be much worse, as Ross’ Dolphins have been through seven coaches in 16 years, all without a playoff win. Things couldn’t be better off the field, as players gave the 84-year-old owner top marks in the NFLPA team report cards for the second straight year.

4. NEW YORK JETS (5-12) | Woody Johnson | The J-E-T-S have done “Just Enough To Stink” with a 173-231 record and one division title in 24 seasons under Johnson. The team appeared in back-to-back AFC title games in 2009 and 2010 but hasn’t made the playoffs despite fielding eight top-10 defenses since then. — Bruce Ewing

AFC West

1. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (15-2)  | Clark Hunt | Since Hunt became owner during the 2007 season, the Chiefs have emerged as one of the league’s premier organizations. In 18 seasons under Hunt, KC has won three Super Bowls and captured 11 division titles. 

2. DENVER BRONCOS (10-7)  | Greg Penner | Penner has owned the franchise for just three seasons, but it appears it’s heading in the right direction after snapping an eight-year playoff drought in 2024. Expect the Broncos to stay on the right track, as he ranked fifth in commitment to building a competitive team in Denver’s 2025 NFLPA report card. 

3. LOS ANGELES CHARGERS  (11-6)  | Dean Spanos | The Chargers have yet to win a Super Bowl, but they’ve been consistent in 19 seasons under Spanos. During this span, they’ve made eight playoff appearances and won five division championships. But that move from San Diego after the 2016 season? Bleh.

4. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (4-13) | Mark Davis | Davis was ranked as the sixth-best owner in Vegas’ 2025 NFLPA report card, but he has failed to build a competitive team. Since he became owner in 2011, the Raiders have just two playoff berths.  — Clark Dalton

AFC North

1. BALTIMORE RAVENS (12-5) | Steve Bisciotti | Consistency isn’t easy to achieve in today’s NFL, which makes Bisciotti’s 21-year run as the majority owner of the Ravens one of the more impressive in the NFL. Baltimore has held onto the same head coach since Bisciotti hired John Harbaugh in 2008, and the team has had 12 playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title in the past 16 years. 

2. PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-7) | Art Rooney II | The Steelers have made the playoffs in five of eight seasons since Rooney took over as Pittsburgh’s owner in 2017, but the team is 0-5 in the postseason in that span. Rooney’s patience and loyalty to HC Mike Tomlin is admirable, but he might need to make a tough decision soon if the playoff failures continue.

3. CINCINNATI BENGALS (9-8) | Mike Brown | Brown is regarded as one of the cheapest owners in the NFL, as evidenced by multiple trade demands by Bengals and QB Joe Burrow publicly imploring management to pay up to keep the team’s top talents. Cincinnati didn’t win a playoff game in the first 30 years of Brown’s tenure, but he’s not the worst owner in the division.

4. CLEVELAND BROWNS (3-14) | Jimmy Haslam | Haslam’s resume as majority owner is a seemingly never-ending list of failures. Cleveland has 11 losing seasons and two playoff appearances in 13 seasons since Haslam took over. Plus, it went 0-16 in 2017, and in 2022, Haslam signed off on dealing six draft picks and paying $230M guaranteed for scandal-plagued QB Deshaun Watson. — Jack Dougherty

AFC South

1. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (8-9) | Jim Irsay | Irsay inherited ownership of the Colts in 1996 after his father, Robert, died. In 1998, the Colts drafted Peyton Manning. You can call it luck, but it happened. Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, and Irsay benefitted from that for over a decade. It may have been good fortune that put the team in a position to draft Manning, but it was just the opposite when QB Andrew Luck shockingly retired at 29. Irsay is the only current owner in the AFC South to win a Super Bowl, so he takes the top spot almost by default.

2. HOUSTON TEXANS (10-7) | Cal McNair | McNair took over day-to-day operations for the Texans after his father, Bud McNair, died in 2018. A promising future quickly turned grim primarily because of the Deshaun Watson scandal, but the Texans promptly got back on track. McNair made the right call by hiring HC DeMeco Ryans, who has led Houston to the playoffs in his first two seasons. McNair’s trusted front-office executives appear to have landed a franchise quarterback in C.J. Stroud.

3. TENNESSEE TITANS (3-14) | Amy Adams Strunk | Strunk took over controlling ownership of the Titans from her father, Bud Adams, in 2015. The sample size is relatively small, but one major decision could haunt her: the 2024 firing of Mike Vrabel, who went 54-45 and led the Titans to the playoffs in three of six seasons. Tennessee then went 3-14 in their first season under new HC Brian Callahan. If the Titans can’t figure out their QB situation, Adams Strunk’s record could worsen.

4. JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (4-13) | Shad Khan | Khan became the owner of the Jaguars in early 2012. He has never hesitated to make a big splash, but some aggressive decisions have massively backfired. We’re looking at you, Urban Meyer. The Jags have made the playoffs twice since Khan bought the team. The future looked bright in Jacksonville after Doug Pederson went 9-8 in 2022 and 2023, but the same disastrous results returned last season. — Steve DelVecchio