Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has died at 65 years old, the NFL team announced Wednesday.
No cause of death was made public. Irsay has faced numerous health challenges in recent years, including a severe respiratory illness and surgeries stemming from a home fall, which led him to use a wheelchair.
Irsay inherited control of the Colts from his father Bob Irsay in 1997—13 years after the franchise completed its relocation from Baltimore—and oversaw its 2008 move into Lucas Oil Stadium. Over the past three decades, his organization rode the wave of surging NFL valuations.
The Colts are worth about $4.99 billion, per Sportico’s most recent NFL valuations, which ranks 27th in the league and 45th among sports teams worldwide.
Irsay is survived by daughters Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson, all of whom are officially listed as the Colts’ vice chairs and have been involved in team operations. Irsay-Gordon is reportedly expected to assume principal ownership responsibilities. Irsay previously said he wanted the organization to stay in the family following his death.
“Jim was a friend, and a man deeply committed to his family, the game, the Colts, and the Indianapolis community,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “He spent his life and career in the National Football League. Starting as a teenager as a Colts’ ballboy, he learned every position in the organization before assuming leadership of the Colts approximately 30 years ago.”
This week, the NFL has held its spring ownership meetings in Minneapolis to vote on proposals, including the ability for players to participate in flag football at the 2028 Olympics. It is not immediately clear whether Irsay was on hand at the multi-day convention.
