After nearly 17 seasons, there will be a change in ownership for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Shahid Khan, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Flex-N-Gate, will purchase the Jaguars from original and longtime owner Wayne Weaver, Weaver announced at a news conference at EverBank Field in downtown Jacksonville Tuesday.
Weaver said Khan is committed to keeping the franchise in Jacksonville.
Weaver has been the majority owner since the team's inception, having been crucial to the team's successful bid for an expansion franchise in 1994. The team has a 136-131 regular-season record during his tenure as owner.
The Jaguars have made six post-season appearances, with appearances in the AFC Championship Game following the 1996 and 1999 seasons.
Khan, 60, a native of Pakistan and a graduate of the University of Illinois, began working for Flex-N-Gate in 1970. He left the company in 1978, then purchased it in 1980, after which it has "enjoyed impressive growth under his active ownership and guidance."
Flex-N-Gate group now employs more than 10,000 associates in 48 states, with annual sales of $3 billion.
Khan is president of the Chief Executives Organization and an active member of the World Presidents Organization. In early 2011, he was awarded the prestigious Order of Lincoln Award, which honors individuals whose contributions to the betterment of humanity have been accomplished in Illinois, or whose achievements have brought honor to the state because of their identity with it, whether by birth or by residence, or whose dedication to the principles of public service inspire Illinoisans to respond to what Lincoln called "the better angels of our nature."
Khan is married. He and his wife, Ann, have two children, Tony and Shanna.
In September of 2011, the Khan Annex of the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois opened. The Khans also have supported Illinois athletics with their gift to the Shahid and Ann Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex at the university.
