Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Kraft Group, and popular owner of the New England Patriots and New England Revolution, was recently named the most influential sports owner in the United States by the annual SportsBusiness Daily “Top 50” list. Kraft ranked third overall on the list, behind NBA commissioner Adam Silver, and ESPN president, John Skipper.
Notably, he was the owner team owner to rank in the top ten. It’s also his sixth straight time landing in the top ten. That he jumped to the third position was the highest ever attained by an owner, outdoing the commissioner of his own league, Roger Goodell (who fell to fifth place after a year of controversy and botched league scandals).
Kraft, in 2014, has seen not only his Patriots advance to the team’s third straight AFC Championship game in the early part of the year, but also surge to another strong regular season in recent weeks. New England’s football team is rated as the eighth most valuable sports franchise in the world by Forbes. It’s a fantastic contrast to where Kraft found the team when he first took over ownership in 1994. At that point, they were considered one of the worst in the league, and rumored to be moving to St. Louis. His investment has triggered an unprecedented run of success for the Patriots.
A new development came in 2014, with an upped financial backing of Kraft’s soccer team, the Revolution. Signing U.S. World Cup veteran Jermaine Jones in August, the Revs promptly went 11-1-2 before falling to the L.A. Galaxy in the MLS Cup Final this past Sunday. Additionally, speculative plans have emerged that apparently point to a renewed interest in moving the team to a soccer-specific stadium in South Boston.
Of course, the term “influential” is a slightly open-ended one, and the reasoning behind specific positions is highly debatable (can Kraft necessarily be more influential than a commissioner?) Still, it’s undeniable that his role not merely in football, but business in general is an extremely powerful one, and any conversation about sports business (among NFL owners especially) involves Kraft.
Image via @haydenhbird
