5 Former players who graduated to NFL owners status feat. Tom Brady’s Raiders ownership

On Tuesday, seven-time Super Bowl-winning Tom Brady joined an exclusive list of former players to own a stake in an NFL team after all 32 franchise owners unanimously approved his and his business partner Tom Wagner's bid to acquire 10% of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Brady and Raiders owner Mark Davis had agreed to a deal in June 2023 but the sale hadn't gone through as it needed the approval of the team owners. It came through on Tuesday, making the former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback the sixth player to own a stake in a franchise.

Here are the five other former players who can also call themselves team owners:

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NFL players who have an ownership stake in teams

1) Richard Seymour - Las Vegas Raiders

Brady wasn't the only former player Davis sold a stake to. He also gave up 0.5% of the Las Vegas Raiders to Hall of Famer Richard Seymour. The defensive end was the quarterback's teammate for eight years in New England. He then joined the Raiders in 2009 and spent four seasons with the franchise before retiring.

After team owners approved Seymour's purchase, he announced it on X:

"I’m deeply grateful—humbled and honored—to become a NFL owner. This is the mission of a lifetime, and I accept it with both purpose and pride. With great opportunity comes great responsibility. And I pledge to be a worthy steward of our game—and all it makes possible."

2) George Halas - Chicago Bears

George Halas was the original player-turned-team-owner in the NFL. He began his pro career in 1919 with the Hammond Pros, a traveling football team. In 1920, he became the player-coach of the A. E. Staley Company's Decatur Staleys, who played in the newly-formed American Professional Football Association. Two years later, it was renamed the National Football League.

In 1921, owner Augustus E. Staley surrendered control of the team and transferred ownership to Halas, who relocated the team from Decatur to Chicago and rebranded it as the Chicago Bears. Halas spent 40 seasons as the team's head coach in four different stints and was a team executive from 1921 until he died in 1983.

3) Jerry Richardson - Carolina Panthers

Jerry Richardson played two seasons in the NFL with the Baltimore Colts in 1959 and 1960. He won the league championship in 1959 and used the bonus money to enter the food industry, where he achieved plenty of success. In 1987, he announced his desire to return to the NFL as an owner of the new expansion team based in Carolinas.

Six years later, the owners approved his bid and the Carolina Panthers joined the NFL as the 29th team. Richardson owned the team until 2018 before selling it to former Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner, David Tepper, for $2.2 billion.

4) John Stallworth - Pittsburgh Steelers

Hall of Fame wide receiver John Stallworth spent his entire 14-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He won four Super Bowls with the franchise and was part of the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team unveiled in 2007.

After retiring from the league, he became a successful businessman. When the opportunity arose in 2009, he joined the Steelers' ownership group and is a part of it to this day.

5) Warrick Dunn - Atlanta Falcons

Retired running back Warrick Dunn started his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and joined the Atlanta Falcons in 2002. He spent six seasons with the franchise and during his time with the team, he formed a close bond with owner Arthur Blank.

After he retired at the end of the 2008 season, the billionaire was keen on making Dunn a limited partner of the franchise. He initially resisted but eventually caved in and accepted the offer in 2009. He was the last former player to become part of an ownership group until Brady and Seymour.