These Sports Owners Made Mistakes Even Their Billions Couldn’t Hide

Darren - December 15, 2022

These Sports Owners Made Mistakes Even Their Billions Couldn’t Hide

Darren - December 15, 2022

Jerry Jones

Jones is one of the few owners on this list who earns a couple of entries. One of the main problems with Jones is that he thinks that he knows better than everybody else. Dallas had a phenomenal opportunity to draft Randy Moss and it made sense. Even his scouts wanted to select the player because they recognized his high ceiling (via Bleacher Report).

But Jones sometimes takes a hands-on approach that damages his team’s prospects. In the end, they drafted Greg Ellis whose main crime was that he wasn’t Moss. Ellis was a defensive end who won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. The 12-year veteran also made the Pro Bowl but he wasn’t on the same level as the all-time great.

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Clayton Bennett and Aubrey McLendon

It’s easy to see why Bennett and McLendon are two of the most unpopular men in Seattle. They bought one of the most iconic NBA franchises before transplanting it to another state. This evil pair snatched the SuperSonics and rebranded them as the Oklahoma City Thunder (via Forbes).

They fought with the city of Seattle over a new stadium but the politicians refused to budge. Then McLendon made a mistake when he admitted that they didn’t buy the franchise to keep it in the city. Before this, they pretended that it was Seattle’s fault. After this, there was no mistaking their intentions.

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Bruce Sherman

Many people will wonder why Jeffrey Lloria isn’t on this list because he ran the Marlins into the ground. But we opted to include his replacement and the franchise’s current owner, Sherman. That’s because he continued where Lloria left off. After all, he doesn’t want to put money into the team.

The Marlins have one of the lowest attendances in the league and can’t fill their stadium. Meanwhile, their payroll is atrocious and they don’t attract good players. In the end, Sherman is responsible for this. It’s indeed his business but fans argue that he must invest as the franchise’s custodian (via Miami Herald).

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The Ford Family

Let’s kick this off by saying that Fords aren’t the most evil owners in the NFL by any stretch of the imagination. But they are responsible for decades of inept management and this is why many fans hate them. Sheila Ford Hamp indeed appears to be taking the franchise in a more positive direction.

But the team endured years of suffering because of terrible coaching hires and poor decisions. It’s remarkable how unsuccessful the Lions have been despite their prominence in the region. The Motor City deserves better but the Fords held them back. Hopefully, much more improvement is around the corner (via CBS News).

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Dan Snyder

We’ve already discussed Snyder’s personnel mistakes but he also made many shocking ethical decisions. One of the worst saw him refuse to rename the team. He defied critics by retaining the old ‘Redskins’ nickname until advertisers threatened to withdraw. Then he finally gave in because he didn’t want to lose money from his sponsors.

Furthermore, a New York Times report revealed the franchise’s toxic workplace culture. Several cheerleaders complained about sexual harassment. They also blamed Snyder for encouraging this dubious workplace environment. This story took a very dark turn and this directly affected his ownership (via SBNation).

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The Glazers

The Glazers won the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their team won a Super Bowl in 2020. This was a phenomenal achievement for the franchise but fans don’t universally love them. They also own Manchester United but made mistakes that they can’t hide. United fans loathe the family because they’re running the team into the ground.

They try to throw millions of dollars at problems but they don’t have a clear plan about anything. This means that the club has many overpaid and unmotivated players. Furthermore, the stadium is deteriorating because they haven’t invested in it. This makes many fans hate them a lot (via The Athletic).

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Jimmy Haslam

Haslam is the king of truck stops across the United States. He also owns the Cleveland Browns as well as the Columbus Crew. This makes him the most significant and influential sports franchise owner in Ohio. But he makes mistakes like they’re going out of fashion. Haslam believed that Johnny Manziel was the future star of the tortured franchise.

Then he alienated many fans when he handed a massive contract to DeShaun Watson. This was massively polarizing because of Watson’s ongoing legal case. Many fans didn’t want to follow a team whose star player sexually harassed women. Haslam thought that his billions would make them forget but he was wrong (via New York Post).

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