Jim Irsay, longtime proprietor and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts and one of many NFL’s most recognizable figures, has died at age 65. The franchise introduced that Irsay handed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday afternoon.
“We’re devastated to announce our beloved Proprietor & CEO, Jim Irsay, handed away peacefully in his sleep,” Colts chief working officer Pete Ward stated in an announcement. “Jim’s dedication and fervour for the Indianapolis Colts, along with his generosity, dedication to the neighborhood, and most significantly, his love for his household had been unsurpassed.”
Irsay, who took over full management of the workforce in 1997 following the loss of life of his father Robert Irsay, presided over probably the most profitable period in Colts historical past. Beneath his management, the workforce drafted quarterback Peyton Manning in 1998, ushering in additional than a decade of dominance that included eight division titles and a victory in Tremendous Bowl XLI.
Born into soccer royalty, Jim Irsay grew up across the recreation and commenced working with the Colts as an adolescent, dealing with all the things from gear to front-office duties. He turned the NFL’s youngest common supervisor in 1984, the yr the workforce relocated from Baltimore to Indianapolis. He later assumed day-to-day management of the franchise in 1995 when his father suffered a stroke.
Past the gridiron, Irsay was identified for his colourful persona, deep love of music and philanthropic spirit. He amassed a world well-known assortment of music memorabilia and often shared it with the general public by means of excursions and performances along with his band. His charitable contributions benefited numerous people and organizations throughout Indiana and the US, from psychological well being initiatives to assist for underserved communities.
“Merely put, he needed to make the world a greater place and that philosophy by no means wavered,” Ward stated. “Jim will likely be deeply missed by his household, the Colts group, and followers all over the place.”
Over 38 years below Irsay’s involvement with the franchise from 1984 by means of 2024, the Colts went 316-294-1 within the common season and 13-16 within the playoffs.
“We had been deeply saddened to study of Jim Irsay’s passing at the moment,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated in an announcement. “Jim was a good friend, and a person deeply dedicated to his household, the sport, the Colts, and the Indianapolis neighborhood. He spent his life and profession within the Nationwide Soccer League. Beginning as an adolescent as a Colts’ ballboy, he realized each place within the group earlier than assuming management of the Colts roughly 30 years in the past. Jim’s Colts received the Tremendous Bowl, hosted one other and constructed Lucas Oil Stadium.”
Goodell famous Irsay’s participation in league operations because the lively chairman of the legislative committee and a member of the finance committee.
“He led with integrity, ardour and take care of the Colts’ gamers, coaches and employees, and his brave work in assist of psychological well being will likely be an enduring legacy,” Goodell stated within the assertion. “Exterior of soccer, he was a proficient musician and constructed a unprecedented assortment of historic and musical artifacts that he shared with individuals throughout the nation.
“On behalf of all the NFL, I prolong my heartfelt condolences to Jim’s daughters and their households, and to his many buddies all through the NFL.”
In February 2024, Irsay took to social media to disclose that his well being was bettering after he was hospitalized for a extreme respiratory sickness.
“On the mend. Grateful for all of the messages of affection and assist,” Irsay wrote on Twitter.
The Colts launched an announcement on 9 January 2024, saying Irsay was present process remedy for the sickness.
On 8 December 2023, per a police report, Irsay, then 64, was discovered unresponsive in his house in Carmel, Indiana, prompting emergency personnel to manage Narcan, which is often used to reverse the consequences of an opioid overdose.
Irsay revealed throughout a November 2023 interview on HBO’s Actual Sports activities With Bryant Gumbel that he had battled habit and almost died from a earlier overdose. He stated he had been to rehab “not less than 15 occasions”.
He publicly credited Alcoholics Nameless for positively impacting his life and that group’s 12-step program has “actually saved tons of of 1000’s or thousands and thousands of lives”, Irsay informed ESPN in 2024.
Irsay is survived by his daughters Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson; his ex-wife, Meg Coyle; and 10 grandchildren.
The Colts haven’t introduced succession plans, however Irsay’s daughters – already lively in workforce operations – are anticipated to proceed his legacy.
