Who is Pittsburgh Steelers Owner? Forbes recently reported that the Pittsburgh Steelers are the only NFL franchise to be valued at $2.25 billion or more. The Rooney family, which owns the team, is worth an estimated $1.9 billion per Forbes’s annual list of richest Americans.
The Rooneys own a variety of businesses in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, including Heinz Field, PNC Park and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Rooneys were ranked as the 20th-wealthiest family in America by Forbes in 2008 with a net worth of $1.5 billion and ranked 29th on Wealth-X’s list of America’s wealthiest families at $1.7 billion in 2006
Who is Pittsburgh Steelers owner
Rooney was born February 6, 1932.
Rooney was the youngest of nine children. He grew up in the Woodland Hills section of Pittsburgh.
Rooney’s father, Dan Rooney, was a steel worker and an icon in Pittsburgh. He was on the Pennsylvania Steelworkers local and helped organize the Congress of Industrial Organizations union.
The younger Dan Rooney would follow in his father’s footsteps. After graduating from Woodland Hills High School, he attended Duquesne University where he received his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He played linebacker and lacrosse at Duquesne.
Rooney would eventually join the Steelers in 1961 as an assistant to his father.
See more: Pittsburgh Steeler sneakers
Rooney was a key part of the negotiations that resulted in the AFL and NFL merger. He became team president of the Steelers in 1984.
Dan Rooney and the Pittsburgh Steelers
From 1964 to 2006 Dan Rooney served as the Steelers President and General Manager.
Under Dan Rooney, the Steelers won four Super Bowls, seven AFC championships, and 14 division titles. He helped negotiate and draft the first collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the players association in 1968.
Before the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the Steelers were a charter member of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) along with the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers. The league dissolved after its first season.
Dan Rooney and the USA Football Advisory Board
Dan Rooney joined the board of USA Football in 2009. He also served on the advisory board of USA Hockey.
He died on April 13. He was 84 years old.
The Rooneys and their business ventures
One of the Rooneys’s earliest business ventures was importing malt liquor, Rheingold Beer, to the U.S. from Germany. This was at a time when most Americans were not accustomed to drinking beer in bottles.
See more: Pittsburgh Steelers Yeezys
The name Rheingold was trademarked. It is still the name of the brand of beer brewed by a group of companies controlled by the family.
In the 1940s, Mr. Rooney imported Super Orange soda from Jamaica, which he sold under his own Black and Tan Co. label in Pittsburgh.
One of Dan Rooney’s most successful ventures was with the sale of Heinz. A Heinz Ketchup label salesman by the name of Edward Woodson came to the United States in the 1940s and worked his way up the corporate ladder until he was named president of the ketchup division of Heinz in 1965.
The Rooneys Today
Dan Rooney, after his retirement as chairman of the team, remained as a representative for the team on many occasions. He was described as a “decent, gracious, and friendly” person by many. In 2014, Dan Rooney served as honorary chairman for the Pennsylvania Delegation to the Republican National Convention.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, in 2016, honored Rooney with a statue of his likeness located outside the PNC Park gates. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Our community is truly blessed with such a wonderful example and legacy of Dan Rooney.
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney at age 84.
See more: Pittsburgh Steelers Christmas
Conclusion Pittsburgh Steelers owner
Since 1879, I have witnessed the success and decline of many NFL franchises. The history of the NFL is filled with many very rich owners such as Dan Snyder, Arthur Blank, Stan Kroenke and Jerry Jones. Sadly, a large portion of NFL ownership is owned by very poor people who are not qualified to run professional sports franchises. These poor business decisions will be detrimental to the future of the NFL.
In 1985, I made an investment in the New England Patriots to allow me to play in the NFL. I also made an investment in the Los Angeles Raiders, and I watched these two franchises implode. I made the mistake of investing in these two teams in their decline, and I made too much of a commitment to these teams.
Two years ago, I completed my most recent investment in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
