Shad Khan, described in a Forbes magazine cover story in 2012 as the "New Face of the American Dream," and later by the same magazine as one of the world's greatest living business minds, saw his goal of owning an NFL team become reality on Dec. 14, 2011, in a unanimous 32-0 vote by NFL owners in support of his purchase of the franchise.
Khan arrived alone from Pakistan in 1967 at age 16 to study at the University of Illinois. With a B.S. in industrial engineering in 1971, he quickly ascended to engineering manager at Flex-N-Gate, then a small automotive parts manufacturer in Urbana, Illinois. In 1978, Khan left and with $13,000 in savings and $50,000 from the Small Business Loan Corporation, he created the start-up Bumper Works, which revolutionized manufacturing through an innovative one-piece bumper design that remains the industry standard. When Flex-N-Gate came on the market two years later, Khan purchased his former employer, brought Bumper Works into the fold and in the decades that followed built the company into the global leader it is today.
Khan's passion for the National Football League took root long before his entry into the league. His dream of one day owning an NFL team began while watching games with his fraternity brothers at the Beta Theta Pi house as a student at the University of Illinois. After closing on the purchase of the Jaguars on Jan. 4, 2012, Khan has been an active owner on NFL matters, a fan-friendly owner for the Jaguars and a tireless supporter for the continued advancement of the Jacksonville community, particularly its downtown.
Khan chairs two important NFL committees – the Legalized Sports Betting Committee, to which he was appointed chairman in 2018, as well as the influential Business Ventures Committee, which he has led since 2016. Khan was also elected by his fellow team owners to the important Compensation Committee and sits on the NFL Network Committee, the Finance Committee and the Health and Safety Committee.
In 2013, Khan complemented his sports club portfolio with his purchase of Fulham Football Club, established in 1879 as the oldest professional club in London. Fulham's famed home ground, Craven Cottage, recently saw the completion of a spectacular renovation with the introduction of Fulham Pier – a one‑of‑a‑kind mixed use destination that also serves as the club's premium match-day hospitality spectator stand on the banks of the River Thames. Fulham has finished comfortably in the mid-table of the English Premier League the past three seasons.
In Jacksonville, Khan's belief in the potential of downtown helped lead to the Jaguars' new sports performance home, the Miller Electric Center. Adjacent to EverBank Stadium, the Miller Electric Center is the result of a public-private partnership between Khan and was opened this year as a 125,000 square-foot facility that houses all of the team's football staff and football operations including locker rooms, training and medical facilities, office space and a draft room. The complex includes two full-size grass practice fields as well as one indoor field along with shaded public viewing stands, concession areas and a team store.
The Miller Electric Center was the initial stage of a downtown effort to spur development of the nearby Jacksonville Shipyards and create a path toward the Stadium of the Future, whose plans were introduced in 2023 with private-public partnership funding approved by the City of Jacksonville in June 2024. The $1.4 billion stadium renovation project is underway, with completion targeted for 2028.
Khan and his wife, Ann, are philanthropic leaders both in Jacksonville as well as in Illinois, where they met as students while attending the University of Illinois. Since 2012, the Khans have focused their charitable giving in the Jacksonville community through the Jaguars Foundation. Through the Foundation, they have provided more than $38.1 million in grants since 2012, including $20.7 million in the past five years. These grants support youth development, neighborhood revitalization, military and veterans programs, and other NFL and team-related initiatives.
On Dec. 16, 2018, Khan, an immigrant who became a naturalized U.S. citizen, joined 65 North Florida residents originally from 38 different countries as they took their final step in saying the "Oath of Allegiance" in front of 65,000 fans to officially become Naturalized U.S. Citizens at halftime of the Jaguars' home game against Washington. It marked the first-ever U.S. citizenship ceremony held during an NFL game and now represents a tradition Khan has continued during a Jaguars home game every season since.
Emblematic of his spirit of living the American Dream, Khan was honored earlier this year by the Carnegie Corporation of New York as a member of the 2025 class of Great Immigrants and Great Americans, whose contributions and actions as naturalized citizens have enriched and strengthened our society and democracy.
