Whoever came up with the saying that the "rich get richer" probably wasn't talking about NFL owners, but they might as well have been because NFL owners definitely got richer over the past 12 months.
According to the newest billionaire numbers from Forbes, the title of NFL's richest owner goes to Carolina's David Tepper, who has a total net worth of $16.7 billion, making him the 103rd-richest person in the world. That number is up $2.2 billion from last year when Tepper was only worth $14.5 billion (And I use the term "only" very, very loosely here).
Not only is Tepper the richest owner in the NFL, but he's also the eighth-richest owner of any sports team in the world, making him the only NFL owner to crack the world top-10 list, according to Forbes. Basically, if the NFL ever decided to dump its salary cap, there's a good chance the Panthers would turn into an unstoppable powerhouse. Tepper has so much money that he's worth $6 billion MORE than the NFL's second-richest owner, Stan Kroenke ($10.7 billion).
Although Kroenke isn't at the top of the list, he would be ranked No. 1 if you counted the net worth of his entire family. The Rams owner is married to Walmart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, who's separately worth an estimated $9 billion, bringing the family total to $19.7 billion.
According to Forbes, there are only three owners in the NFL who are worth more than $10 billion. Besides Tepper and Kroenke the only other owner in the $10 billion club is Jerry Jones, who checks in with a net worth of $10.6 billion.
The five richest owners in the NFL saw their net worth go up a total of $9 billion combined compared to last year. The biggest jump went to Kroenke, who saw his wealth shoot up $2.5 billion to $10.7 billion.
Before we get to the 15 richest owners, here's one quick note: with a net worth of just over $20 billion, Seattle's Paul Allen was the richest owner in the NFL before he died in October 2018. The Seahawks are now owned by the Paul G. Allen trust, which is run by Allen's sister, Jody. Although Jody was the only heir to the estate, she's not listed here because Paul Allen wanted to see most of his fortune given away, so it's difficult to pin down just how much the trust is now worth. For more details on that situation, be sure to click here.
With that in mind, let's get to the list of the richest owners.
Top 15 richest owners in the NFL
1. David Tepper, Panthers: $16.7 billion (103rd-richest person in the world)
2. Stan Kroenke, Rams: $10.7 billion
3. Jerry Jones, Cowboys: $10.6 billion
4. Robert Kraft, Patriots: $8.3 billion (up two spots)
5. Stephen Ross, Dolphins: $8.2 billion
6. Shahid Khan, Jaguars: $7.6 billion
7. Arthur Blank, Falcons $7.1 billion
8. Stephen Bisciotti, Ravens: $5.9 billion
9. Terry Pegula, Bills: $5.8 billion
10. Janice McNair, Texans: $4.2 billion
T-11. Dan Snyder, Commanders: $4 billion
T-11 Denise York, 49ers: $4 billion
T-13. Gayle Benson, Saints $3.8 billion
T-13. Jimmy Haslam, Browns: $3.8 billion
T-15. Jim Irsay, Colts: $3.5 billion
T-15. Jeff Lurie, Eagles: $3.5 billion
