NFL: Jaguars owner agrees to sell team to Pakistani-American businessman

The Jaguars have a league-low estimated value of $725 million according to a Forbes study published in September.


Reuters November 29, 2011

FLORIDA: Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver has reached an agreement to sell the National Football League (NFL) team to Pakistani-American businessman Shahid Khan.

The sale of the Jaguars, who earlier on Tuesday announced that head coach Jack Del Rio has been fired, is subject to the approval of the NFL and its team owners.

"Shahid Khan is a great American success story and he will be an outstanding owner for this franchise and for this community," Weaver said at a news conference.

The Jaguars, who are 3-8 this season and eliminated from playoff contention, have a league-low estimated value of $725 million according to a Forbes study published in September.

"Owning a team in the National Football League has long been my personal and professional goal," said Khan, who came to the United States from Pakistan in 1967 at the age of 16.

"Becoming the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars would be a dream come true for me and my family."

Jaguars' chairman and chief executive Weaver and his partners had owned the team since 1993 when they won an expansion franchise for Jacksonville.

The team's loss on Sunday was followed by a decision on Tuesday to fire longtime coach Del Rio, who was 11 games into his ninth season with the NFL team.

Khan, who last year tried to buy the NFL's St. Louis Rams, heads Illinois-based automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate, which employs over 12,000 people at 57 facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Spain and Argentina, with annual sales exceeding $3 billion.

COMMENTS (21)

Hedgefunder | 12 years ago | Reply

@Raj: "You are right, I have forgotten that one has to hate India and burn US flags to be called Pakistani." That's another irrational generalization on your part. Not every Pakistani hates India or burns American flags. Just like not every Indian works at a gas station, motel, or a call-center. Get your goddamn thinking straight and then try to comment on issues. Also, you are now contradicting what you said earlier "I love Pakistan more than the Pakistanis." Now you are talking about "alienation towards Pakistan." So what is your true stand; love for Pakistan or alienation towards Pakistan. Seems like you are negating everything you said earlier. Like I said, you are confused about your identity, grow up!

Raj | 12 years ago | Reply

@Hedgefunder: "You are not good enough to be Pakistani.," You are right, I have forgotten that one has to hate India and burn US flags to be called Pakistani. Now I can hedge this advise to fund my alienation towards Pakistan.

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