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Shad Khan’s Journey — From Washing Dishes to Billionaire Sports Mogul
Welcome to Gridiron Wallet — where NFL players don’t just chase rings, they chase bags. From million-dollar grills to side hustles that slap, we’re decoding how football’s finest make it, spend it, and sometimes… fumble it. 🏈🔥
The latest edition of our newsletter covers Shad Khan:
From $1.20 an Hour to Flex-N-Gate Fortune
Owning the Jaguars and Expansion into Sports
Billionaire Lifestyle and Legacy Building
💸Here Comes the Money
From $1.20 an Hour to Flex-N-Gate Fortune
Shahid (often called Shad) Khan had been living in America for over 40 years when he made his first attempt at buying a sports team, one that belonged to his favorite league: The NFL. We’re, of course, talking about the St. Louis Rams, in which he tried to buy a 60 percent stake in 2010. But at the last minute, he was thwarted by minority owner Stan Kroenke, who activated a clause in his deal that allowed him to match any offer.
Khan was never one to give up easily. The next year, he agreed to a deal to buy the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wayne Weaver and his ownership group, who had run the team since 1993. Khan bought the team for $770 million. He was unanimously approved by the rest of the NFL owners, becoming the first ethnic minority to own an NFL team.
Breaking down barriers like that has always been Khan’s MO. Growing up in Lahore, Pakistan, he was a go-getter from a young age. He moved to America in 1968 when he was just 16, working a job washing dishes for $1.20 an hour to make ends meet.
Khan eventually studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering in 1971. He was 20 years old at the time.
Khan hadn’t just been studying during his college years. He’d already gotten a job at the automotive company Flex-N-Gate. When he graduated, the firm immediately promoted him as its engineering director.
And, what we now know as a common thread through Khan’s story, he did not rest on his laurels despite holding such an impressive title for a 20-year-old fresh out of college.
A few years later, Khan started Bumper Works — a company selling customized car bumpers that would revolutionize the industry — with a small business loan and a chunk of his savings. Two years after that, in 1980, he had enough money to buy Flex-N-Gate.
Khan quickly led an expansion as the company began providing bumpers for the three big automakers of the time (GM, Chrysler, Ford). He then shifted to Toyota, for whom his company became the sole supplier of bumpers throughout the United States.
Using his own never-satisfied attitude as well as the corporate ‘Toyota Way’ culture, Khan pushed the company to new heights. The sales grew from around $17 million when he bought it to over $2 billion in 2010, and just under $9 billion in 2020.
By 2019, Flex-N-Gate employed over 25,000 people and operated 69 manufacturing plants spread across the U.S., Canada, Europe, China, Mexico, and Argentina. The next year, Forbes ranked it as the No. 47 largest privately held American company.
Shad Khan is now worth $12.2 billion, ranking him eighth among NFL owners, just behind Jerry Jones and just ahead of Robert Kraft. The Jaguars, which he bought for $770 million, let’s remember, is now worth $4.6 billion despite being the second-least valuable NFL franchise.
Khan has bolstered his sports portfolio with the subsequent purchase of the English Premier League soccer club, Fulham F.C.. The 75-year-old also founded the All-Elite Wrestling promotion, partnering with his son, Tony.
✍️Paper Play
Owning the Jaguars and Expansion into Sports
In 2011, Shad Khan purchased the Jacksonville Jaguars for $770 million. Since the takeover, though, the team has struggled to find its footing.
The Jags own the worst NFL record since 2012 at 64-148. They’ve made the playoffs only twice and were once just one win away from being in the Super Bowl in 2018. Despite the poor record, the team is still worth nearly $4.6 billion. This is governed by multiple factors, with the overall increase in league revenue being the primary reason.
Khan didn’t stop at just football, however. In 2013, he bought the English Premier League soccer club, Fulham F.C., extending his sports footprint globally. However, that venture has been a mixed bag.
That same season, Fulham were relegated back to the league below the Premier League after a terrible year. They didn’t make it back up until 2018.
And once they made it back to the top English league, they were promptly relegated again. Over the next three seasons, they bounced back and forth, going up, then back down, then back up again. Since 2022, though, Fulham have managed to avoid relegation and stay in the Premier League. And yes, attendance is the highest it has been since Khan took over.
Khan has stakes in other sports as well. He backed his son Tony in launching All Elite Wrestling (AEW), which rivals WWE and is valued at over $2 billion. They’ve enjoyed financial success, regularly drawing about 600k viewers live on cable per event, as well as another 350k through streaming. That’s roughly half the audience of the WWE. AEW is considered a successful alternative to those looking for more adult-oriented content.
Evidently, sports aren’t just passion projects for Khan. They’re part of a diversified business empire. Through them, he’s managed to build a net worth of $13.7 billion. Pretty impressive for a Pakistani man who once arrived in America with just $500 in his pocket.
💡 Gridiron Wallet Trivia
Did you know?
🌿 Shad Khan flies to Jaguars games in his custom Boeing 747-8, one of the largest and most expensive private jets in the world—estimated at over $250 million. Nicknamed the “Flying Palace,” it reflects Khan’s status not just as an NFL owner, but as one of the richest sports owners globally.
🏈✨Dream Team
Billionaire Lifestyle and Legacy Building
Shad Khan’s story has always been about building beyond himself. It started with Flex-N-Gate, the auto parts company he bought in 1980. His business empire has since grown into a multi-billion-dollar sports empire and now, full-scale urban development. Khan has already poured vast sums into real estate projects.
Since purchasing the Jaguars for $770 million in 2011 (today worth $4.6 billion), Khan has committed more than $1 billion toward keeping the franchise rooted in the city. His proposed “Stadium of the Future” alone carries a $1.4 billion price tag, which is also part of a sweeping $2 billion downtown project shared with the city.
At the same time, his Iguana Investments is driving a $300 million-plus Shipyards development, anchored by a Four Seasons hotel, residences, and a marina.
Owning the Jaguars isn’t enough when fans and residents don’t have affordable living, according to Khan. “Over there… There is no neighborhood, so over there we’re building a neighborhood from the highest end all the way to more modestly priced apartments,” he told Bloomberg in an interview last year.
That said, like any billionaire, Khan enjoys the luxuries too. One of his most prized possessions is his $450 million superyacht, Kismet, which towers over harbors from London to New Orleans and has six decks of opulence. It is complete with a cinema, spa, basketball court, and hot tub suite. One can even charter the yacht for a week, as long as they can shell out $3 million for it.
Meanwhile, on land, Khan’s collection includes a $4.5 million Lamborghini Veneno, a $1.5 million Pagani Huayra, and a $200,000 Aston Martin, with private jets to match.
But as extravagant as the toys are, Khan’s legacy isn’t measured in yachts or cars. It’s in the arc of his journey.
From washing dishes for $1.20 an hour as a teenage immigrant to building a $13.7 billion fortune and becoming the NFL’s first non-white owner, Khan has carried the weight of representation as much as ambition.
“Put money into the squad, but more importantly serve the community,” he once said, a philosophy that underscores his projects in both Jacksonville and London.
So at the end of the day, Khan’s life is less about consumption and more about construction, of neighborhoods, of opportunities. And, of course, a legacy that proves the American Dream, though fragile, still lives.
📆 NFL Money Stat of 1900
In the early 1900s—before the NFL officially formed in 1920—pro football players earned as little as $10–$50 per game (about $300–$1,500 today). Some “star” players could command $100 for a big matchup, but most held full-time jobs and played football on the side, making the sport more of a weekend hustle than a career.