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Jim Irsay, the man who led the Colts out of irrelevancy and made Indianapolis into a football city, died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 65 on Wednesday afternoon, according to an announcement from the team.
"Jim's dedication and passion for the Indianapolis Colts, in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family, were unsurpassed," a Colts statement read. "Our deepest sympathies go to his daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, Kalen Jackson, and his entire family as we grieve with them."
His daughters are expected to take over ownership of the team.
Unlike his father, Robert, who spent a decade leading the franchise during its days in Baltimore, almost all of Jim Irsay’s career was spent guiding the Colts in Indianapolis.
Born in Lincolnwood, Illinois, in 1959, Irsay first got a chance to be around the Colts in his teens, when his father purchased the team in 1972, going to practices, riding the team bus and attendinggames. A football player in high school, Irsay walked on as a linebacker at Southern Methodist Universityand played until an ankle injury cut short his career. He graduated from the school in 1982 with a degree in broadcast journalism and returned to the Colts front office staff in Baltimore, initially working in ticketing and public relations.
"Some of Jim's fondest memories came for his youth working training camps in Baltimore and growing relationships with players, coaches, and his staff whom he considered his extended family," the team's statement read.
Two years later, Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis, and a month after the momentous relocation, named his son the team’s vice president and general manager at 24.
Irsay handled that role for a decade, engineering the team’s trade for Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, a move that brought the Colts their first playoff berth in Indianapolis in 1987, before his father hired Bill Tobin to handle personnel in 1994 and kept Irsay in a role overseeing the financial side of the general manager’s job.
A year later, Robert Irsay suffered a stroke, and his son took full control of the club as the team’s senior executive vice president, general manager and chief operating officer. The elder Irsay died a year later, and Irsay assumed ownership of the team after a legal battle with his stepmother, Nancy, who alleged that the franchise’s five trustees conspired to alter her inheritance. Ultimately, the franchise and Nancy Irsay settled, and Jim Irsay took over full control of the Colts.
From that point on, Irsay started building the consistent winner the city of Indianapolis hadn’t seen. Mindful of his father’s mistakes, Irsay saw his role in charge of the organization as making sure the right people were in position in three spots: general manager, coach and quarterback. Under Tobin, Indianapolis went to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons behind quarterback Jim Harbaugh — coming as close to a Super Bowl berth as a failed Hail Mary in 1995 — but after a 3-13 season in 1997, Irsay hired Bill Polian, the man who’d put together the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl teams and a Carolina Panthers team that was surprisingly good shortly after expansion, to run the team.
Colts news: The 1995 Indianapolis Colts and the birth of a football city
A year later, Irsay found his quarterback, choosing Tennessee’s Peyton Manning over Washington State’s Ryan Leaf in one of the most famous draft debates of all-time. At the same time, Irsay renegotiated the team’s lease at the RCA Dome, ensuring the Colts would stay in Indianapolis for at least a decade.
Manning went on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and after the Colts hired former Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy in 2002, made the franchise a perennial Super Bowl contender.
Under Irsay, Indianapolis hit its peak in the 2006 season; the Manning-Dungy-Polian triumvirate taking the Colts all the way to a Super Bowl XLI win over the Chicago Bears and the city’s first Lombardi Trophy. At roughly the same time, Irsay made a long-term commitment to Indianapolis, negotiating with the state and city to build Lucas Oil Stadium for $720 million, with $100 million chipped in by Irsay and the Colts; a deal that was seen as tipped heavily in the Colts' favor. Known as the House that Manning Built, the stadium in fact was built to keep the Colts relevant in Indianapolis long past the end of Manning’s career.
Irsay spent the rest of his life chasing another Lombardi Trophy. Under Irsay, the Colts compiled a 257-194-1 record, won 10 division titles and made 16 playoff appearances.
Indianapolis came up short in Super Bowl XLIV against the Saints, and two years later, Irsay made the difficult decision to move on from an injured Manning and use the No. 1 draft pick in 2012 on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who would take the Colts to the playoffs four times — including one AFC Championship Game appearance — before shocking the NFL world and retiring at 29 after a litany of injuries, injuries Irsay often revealed in stages and surprising fashion to the media as he tried to stay optimistic. Unlike other NFL teams, Irsay did not try to reclaim any signing bonus already paid to Luck, even though the Colts could have forced the quarterback to repay $24.8 million in signing and roster bonuses.
Luck’s retirement set the Colts on a long, winding search for their next franchise quarterback, a search that took the franchise through seven consecutive seasons with a different season-opening starter at the NFL’s most important position, although Indianapolis hopes that streak will end next season. A string of different veteran starters finally bottomed out with a 4-12-1 season in 2022; a season that included the first in-season firing of a head coach — Frank Reich — in Irsay’s career in charge of the Colts and the subsequent hire of legendary former center Jeff Saturday as interim coach despite no coaching experience above the high school level. Indianapolis finally satisfied Irsay’s stated desire for a young quarterback, selecting Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft and pairing him with new coach Shane Steichen.
The Colts are 17-17 in two seasons under Steichen, but Irsay held firm at the end of the season, sticking with both Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard despite widespread criticism of the team's regime. Irsay's decision set the course for this offseason.
“I’ve been evaluating our entire operation, and I believe in Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen and our collective ability to make the improvements needed to take us to the next level in 2025,” Irsay wrote at the end of the season. “I know fans who want an immediate change in leadership will be disappointed. That means we all have a lot to prove, so we’ll get back to work and keep doing what we can to earn your support and make you proud to be a Colts fan.”
Devoted to football and an unabashed NFL historian who had great respect for the league, Irsay took on a role as a spokesman for the owners in later years, fearlessly offering comment on difficult situations the NFL faced in addition to his official NFL roles.
"Within the League, Jim was an active Chairman of the Legislative Committee and member of the Finance Committee. He led with integrity, passion and care for the Colts’ players, coaches and staff, and his courageous work in support of mental health will be a lasting legacy," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "On behalf of the entire NFL, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Jim’s daughters and their families, and to his many friends throughout the NFL."
Off the field, Irsay battled alcoholism and addiction to prescription pain killers, addictions that stemmed from surgeries to fix injuries suffered as a powerlifter as a younger man. Irsay spent most of the late 90’s and the early 2000s trying to beat the addiction, eventually going to a rehabilitation center in 2002.
The Colts owner’s addiction became a public issue again in 2014, when he was pulled over in Carmel with bottles of pills in the front seat, $29,000 in a briefcase and laundry bag. Irsaywas arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and eventually suspended for six games and fined $50,000 by the NFL. Irsay told HBO's "Real Sports" in a story published in November that he'd been to rehabilitation at least 15 times, and that he'd previously overdosed once, describing a near-death experience when he mixed multiple drugs, stopped breathing and had to be revived.
Irsay was taken to the hospital again on Dec. 8, 2023, after being found unresponsive, cold to the touch and breathing abnormally, according to an incident report obtained by IndyStar and he dealt with a severe respiratory illness in the first few months of 2024. For the past year, Irsay has not been as active publicly as he battled issues iwth mobility.
Irsay was also an incredibly generous man, known for holding impromptu giveaways of tickets and trips on his social media accounts, in addition to more traditional charity work that established the Irsay Family YMCA, Riley Hospital for Children and the Colts Canal Playspace, among many others.
Irsay and his family established his signature initiative in 2020, founding Kicking the Stigma to raise awareness about mental health issues, remove the stigma associated with mental health issues and raise money for organizations focused on treatment and research. Irsay continued to give financially to other causes, but Kicking the Stigma became his passion project, and the initiative has already donated more than $25 million to organizations including Indiana University, Mental Health America, Project Healthy Minds, the National Alliance of Mental Illness in Greater Indianapolis and many others, both locally and nationwide.
"Jim's generosity can be felt all over Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and the country," the team's statement read. "He never hesitated to help countless organizations and individuals live better lives."
A lover of rock n’ roll, Irsay spent millions of dollars collecting rare and significant guitars like Les Paul’s 1954 Gibson Black Beauty, Prince’s Yellow Cloud and David Gilmour’s famed Black Strat. Irsay also owned the manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” and the original manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, the text that spawned the rehabilitation group. Irsay’s twin passions of music and rare collections culminated in the Jim Irsay Collection, an exhibit of Irsay’s rare items that has traveled the country, and The Jim Irsay Band, a collection of musicians who’ve traveled and played together since 2021, sometimes in conjunction with a display of The Jim Irsay Collection and sometimes in its own concert. For the past two seasons, Irsay and his band have opened the season by playing a free Colts Kickoff Concert at Lucas Oil Stadium, along with a display of the Jim Irsay Collection for Colts fans to enjoy.
"Music was one of Jim's passions, and the ability to share his band and collection with millions of people across the world brought him tremendous joy," the team's statemenet read. "Simply put, he wanted to make the world a better place, and that philosophy never wavered."
Irsay is expected to leave the Colts to his daughters, who have served as vice chairs and owners since 2012. Irsay-Gordon has overseen the football side and the digital media operations; Foyt focuses on marketing and community relations; and Jackson is involved in corporate sales and community outreach programs.
"Jim will be deeply missed by his family, the Colts organization and fans everywhere," the statement read. "But we remain inspried by the caring and unique spirit."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts owner Jim Irsay dies at 65
Continue reading...
"Jim's dedication and passion for the Indianapolis Colts, in addition to his generosity, commitment to the community, and most importantly, his love for his family, were unsurpassed," a Colts statement read. "Our deepest sympathies go to his daughters, Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt, Kalen Jackson, and his entire family as we grieve with them."
His daughters are expected to take over ownership of the team.
Unlike his father, Robert, who spent a decade leading the franchise during its days in Baltimore, almost all of Jim Irsay’s career was spent guiding the Colts in Indianapolis.
Born in Lincolnwood, Illinois, in 1959, Irsay first got a chance to be around the Colts in his teens, when his father purchased the team in 1972, going to practices, riding the team bus and attendinggames. A football player in high school, Irsay walked on as a linebacker at Southern Methodist Universityand played until an ankle injury cut short his career. He graduated from the school in 1982 with a degree in broadcast journalism and returned to the Colts front office staff in Baltimore, initially working in ticketing and public relations.
"Some of Jim's fondest memories came for his youth working training camps in Baltimore and growing relationships with players, coaches, and his staff whom he considered his extended family," the team's statement read.
Two years later, Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis, and a month after the momentous relocation, named his son the team’s vice president and general manager at 24.
Irsay handled that role for a decade, engineering the team’s trade for Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson, a move that brought the Colts their first playoff berth in Indianapolis in 1987, before his father hired Bill Tobin to handle personnel in 1994 and kept Irsay in a role overseeing the financial side of the general manager’s job.
A year later, Robert Irsay suffered a stroke, and his son took full control of the club as the team’s senior executive vice president, general manager and chief operating officer. The elder Irsay died a year later, and Irsay assumed ownership of the team after a legal battle with his stepmother, Nancy, who alleged that the franchise’s five trustees conspired to alter her inheritance. Ultimately, the franchise and Nancy Irsay settled, and Jim Irsay took over full control of the Colts.
From that point on, Irsay started building the consistent winner the city of Indianapolis hadn’t seen. Mindful of his father’s mistakes, Irsay saw his role in charge of the organization as making sure the right people were in position in three spots: general manager, coach and quarterback. Under Tobin, Indianapolis went to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons behind quarterback Jim Harbaugh — coming as close to a Super Bowl berth as a failed Hail Mary in 1995 — but after a 3-13 season in 1997, Irsay hired Bill Polian, the man who’d put together the Buffalo Bills Super Bowl teams and a Carolina Panthers team that was surprisingly good shortly after expansion, to run the team.
Colts news: The 1995 Indianapolis Colts and the birth of a football city
A year later, Irsay found his quarterback, choosing Tennessee’s Peyton Manning over Washington State’s Ryan Leaf in one of the most famous draft debates of all-time. At the same time, Irsay renegotiated the team’s lease at the RCA Dome, ensuring the Colts would stay in Indianapolis for at least a decade.
Manning went on to become one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, and after the Colts hired former Buccaneers coach Tony Dungy in 2002, made the franchise a perennial Super Bowl contender.
Under Irsay, Indianapolis hit its peak in the 2006 season; the Manning-Dungy-Polian triumvirate taking the Colts all the way to a Super Bowl XLI win over the Chicago Bears and the city’s first Lombardi Trophy. At roughly the same time, Irsay made a long-term commitment to Indianapolis, negotiating with the state and city to build Lucas Oil Stadium for $720 million, with $100 million chipped in by Irsay and the Colts; a deal that was seen as tipped heavily in the Colts' favor. Known as the House that Manning Built, the stadium in fact was built to keep the Colts relevant in Indianapolis long past the end of Manning’s career.
Irsay spent the rest of his life chasing another Lombardi Trophy. Under Irsay, the Colts compiled a 257-194-1 record, won 10 division titles and made 16 playoff appearances.
Indianapolis came up short in Super Bowl XLIV against the Saints, and two years later, Irsay made the difficult decision to move on from an injured Manning and use the No. 1 draft pick in 2012 on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, who would take the Colts to the playoffs four times — including one AFC Championship Game appearance — before shocking the NFL world and retiring at 29 after a litany of injuries, injuries Irsay often revealed in stages and surprising fashion to the media as he tried to stay optimistic. Unlike other NFL teams, Irsay did not try to reclaim any signing bonus already paid to Luck, even though the Colts could have forced the quarterback to repay $24.8 million in signing and roster bonuses.
Luck’s retirement set the Colts on a long, winding search for their next franchise quarterback, a search that took the franchise through seven consecutive seasons with a different season-opening starter at the NFL’s most important position, although Indianapolis hopes that streak will end next season. A string of different veteran starters finally bottomed out with a 4-12-1 season in 2022; a season that included the first in-season firing of a head coach — Frank Reich — in Irsay’s career in charge of the Colts and the subsequent hire of legendary former center Jeff Saturday as interim coach despite no coaching experience above the high school level. Indianapolis finally satisfied Irsay’s stated desire for a young quarterback, selecting Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft and pairing him with new coach Shane Steichen.
The Colts are 17-17 in two seasons under Steichen, but Irsay held firm at the end of the season, sticking with both Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard despite widespread criticism of the team's regime. Irsay's decision set the course for this offseason.
“I’ve been evaluating our entire operation, and I believe in Chris Ballard and Shane Steichen and our collective ability to make the improvements needed to take us to the next level in 2025,” Irsay wrote at the end of the season. “I know fans who want an immediate change in leadership will be disappointed. That means we all have a lot to prove, so we’ll get back to work and keep doing what we can to earn your support and make you proud to be a Colts fan.”
Devoted to football and an unabashed NFL historian who had great respect for the league, Irsay took on a role as a spokesman for the owners in later years, fearlessly offering comment on difficult situations the NFL faced in addition to his official NFL roles.
"Within the League, Jim was an active Chairman of the Legislative Committee and member of the Finance Committee. He led with integrity, passion and care for the Colts’ players, coaches and staff, and his courageous work in support of mental health will be a lasting legacy," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. "On behalf of the entire NFL, I extend my heartfelt condolences to Jim’s daughters and their families, and to his many friends throughout the NFL."
Off the field, Irsay battled alcoholism and addiction to prescription pain killers, addictions that stemmed from surgeries to fix injuries suffered as a powerlifter as a younger man. Irsay spent most of the late 90’s and the early 2000s trying to beat the addiction, eventually going to a rehabilitation center in 2002.
The Colts owner’s addiction became a public issue again in 2014, when he was pulled over in Carmel with bottles of pills in the front seat, $29,000 in a briefcase and laundry bag. Irsaywas arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and eventually suspended for six games and fined $50,000 by the NFL. Irsay told HBO's "Real Sports" in a story published in November that he'd been to rehabilitation at least 15 times, and that he'd previously overdosed once, describing a near-death experience when he mixed multiple drugs, stopped breathing and had to be revived.
Irsay was taken to the hospital again on Dec. 8, 2023, after being found unresponsive, cold to the touch and breathing abnormally, according to an incident report obtained by IndyStar and he dealt with a severe respiratory illness in the first few months of 2024. For the past year, Irsay has not been as active publicly as he battled issues iwth mobility.
Irsay was also an incredibly generous man, known for holding impromptu giveaways of tickets and trips on his social media accounts, in addition to more traditional charity work that established the Irsay Family YMCA, Riley Hospital for Children and the Colts Canal Playspace, among many others.
Irsay and his family established his signature initiative in 2020, founding Kicking the Stigma to raise awareness about mental health issues, remove the stigma associated with mental health issues and raise money for organizations focused on treatment and research. Irsay continued to give financially to other causes, but Kicking the Stigma became his passion project, and the initiative has already donated more than $25 million to organizations including Indiana University, Mental Health America, Project Healthy Minds, the National Alliance of Mental Illness in Greater Indianapolis and many others, both locally and nationwide.
"Jim's generosity can be felt all over Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and the country," the team's statement read. "He never hesitated to help countless organizations and individuals live better lives."
A lover of rock n’ roll, Irsay spent millions of dollars collecting rare and significant guitars like Les Paul’s 1954 Gibson Black Beauty, Prince’s Yellow Cloud and David Gilmour’s famed Black Strat. Irsay also owned the manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” and the original manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, the text that spawned the rehabilitation group. Irsay’s twin passions of music and rare collections culminated in the Jim Irsay Collection, an exhibit of Irsay’s rare items that has traveled the country, and The Jim Irsay Band, a collection of musicians who’ve traveled and played together since 2021, sometimes in conjunction with a display of The Jim Irsay Collection and sometimes in its own concert. For the past two seasons, Irsay and his band have opened the season by playing a free Colts Kickoff Concert at Lucas Oil Stadium, along with a display of the Jim Irsay Collection for Colts fans to enjoy.
"Music was one of Jim's passions, and the ability to share his band and collection with millions of people across the world brought him tremendous joy," the team's statemenet read. "Simply put, he wanted to make the world a better place, and that philosophy never wavered."
Irsay is expected to leave the Colts to his daughters, who have served as vice chairs and owners since 2012. Irsay-Gordon has overseen the football side and the digital media operations; Foyt focuses on marketing and community relations; and Jackson is involved in corporate sales and community outreach programs.
"Jim will be deeply missed by his family, the Colts organization and fans everywhere," the statement read. "But we remain inspried by the caring and unique spirit."
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts owner Jim Irsay dies at 65
Continue reading...
