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Jacksonville Jaguars original owner Wayne Weaver turns 90: Among city's greatest influencers
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- Jacksonville Jaguars original owner Wayne Weaver turns 90: Among city's greatest influencers
How fitting the Jacksonville Jaguars concluded their 30th season as a franchise on Sunday, which almost coincides with another milestone occasion that deserves recognition for the monumental significance attached to the city's history.
Tuesday, Jan. 14, marks the 90th birthday of Wayne Weaver , the Jaguars ' first owner who forged a wildly successful business and philanthropic path with his wife, Delores, that can't possibly be quantified for its impact.
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Anybody who knows the Weavers understands they never cared about public recognition or accolades, but this is as good a time as any to pay homage to lives done the right way.
Nobody could have known before the city acquired an NFL expansion franchise in November 1993 , that they'd become a power couple for the ages on behalf of Jacksonville . It just worked out that way.
Right from their humble beginnings in Columbus, Ga. — meeting as teenagers when Delores worked in the Darling dress shop managed by Wayne's mother, Ouida Bonnoyer — the lives of this phenomenal husband-wife team ultimately made northeast Florida the recipient of benefits beyond measure.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver (R), seen walking along the St. Johns River in 2017 with wife Delores, was instrumental in the city landing its only Super Bowl 20 years ago.
Aside from being the principal owners who made Jacksonville an NFL city, the Weavers' positive influence during and after they sold the Jaguars to Shad Khan in 2011 has continued well into old age.
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Wayne and Delores, 88, added to their tremendous wealth by selling the Jaguars for $760 million . It set in motion more giving as they earmarked a lot of that money for grants benefiting countless Jacksonville area non-profits and charitable endeavors tied to education, disadvantaged young women and dozens of other initiatives.
Bringing the NFL to a city few expected would land a team over 30 years ago was an astounding accomplishment, opening doors that would have never been possible without the Jaguars.
Even more remarkable as time marches on is the Weavers' desire to keep gifting hundreds of millions in charitable dollars to hundreds of charities . None of that philanthropy — starting with the Jaguars' Foundation that Delores initiated from the moment they owned the team — has slowed down in their golden years.
Among the Weavers' great admirers is Tom Coughlin, the first head coach they hired, who has been heavily involved in his Jay Fund charity to benefit cancer-stricken children and their families. While the Weaver foundation has been a consistent supporter of Coughlin's endeavor, the former Jaguars' coach who led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl titles thinks highly of the couple's overall impact beyond football and his own charity.
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"I think it's great to recognize what the two of them did and what dominant forces they were in Jacksonville," Coughlin said. "Wayne and Delores were very interested in the development of the city and its people.
"We didn't start the Jay Fund until after that first [1995] season. Wayne was on my board right away, but Delores was the driving force behind that whole foundation. They still are. They have many varied interests. They're very inquisitive people. They're interested in a lot of things that go on in the world, and you can see [supporting] young people are certain a warm spot in their hearts."
So as Wayne turns 90, and the Weavers approach celebrating their 70th anniversary on Feb. 26, it's hard to put into words what their merger as a couple has meant to Jacksonville.
Tony Boselli, the Jaguars' Hall of Fame offensive tackle who played for the team from 1995-2001 and now serves as a game-day radio analyst, might have summed it up best, saying: "They've taken all the resources they have and made it so Jacksonville is a better place to live for everybody."
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NFL dream almost died
It didn't seem for the longest time that the Jaguars, both before and after Wayne joined a local ownership group as potential investors in an NFL franchise, were meant to be.
Jacksonville was mostly viewed as a city too small and not progressive enough to field a major sports team. While it had a two-year run with the USFL Bulls before the league folded in 1986, chasing an NFL team appeared beyond reach.
When local businessman Tom Petway started a Touchdown Jacksonville group in 1989, he and several partners that included insurance executive Ron Weaver, Wayne's younger brother, tried to keep the city's NFL candidacy viable.
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The big obstacle was money. The group needed someone with deeper pockets to satisfy the NFL. Wayne, a shoe magnate who owned Nine West and Shoe Carnival, became intrigued when his brother made a business pitch and Petway ceded majority ownership to him.
"We needed some financial power," said Petway. "What really closed the deal was when I told Wayne that I'd relinquish my position to him to take over principal ownership. He saw a business opportunity and took it."
Everything was going smoothly until the summer of 1993 when negotiations between Weaver's group and then-mayor Ed Austin broke down over obstacles on a stadium deal, including which side would pay for construction cost overruns.
Weaver decided the negotiations had become too much of a stalemate, so he pulled out. A Times-Union headline proclaimed: "The Dream is Dead."
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"Those were long days trying to get everybody calmed down about that," said Petway.
(Hear Wayne Weaver talk about turning the dream of luring an NFL team to Jacksonville into a reality.)
Weaver's audible changed Jacksonville forever
Carl Cannon, then publisher of the Florida Times-Union, and former University of North Florida president Adam Herbert decided not to give up. So they worked behind the scenes to entice Weaver and Austin to somehow secretly get back to the negotiating table.
But to pull off the comeback, to show the NFL they wanted back in the game, nearly 10,000 club seats (some of which had been sold and refunds given back) had to be purchased in less than three weeks.
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Cannon, after persuading Austin to meet at his T-U office, then called a vacationing Weaver in Colorado to start a conversation about resuming pursuit of an NFL team.
"We had a 10-day ticket drive in mid-August," Cannon said. "That 10 days was probably the most important 10 days that Jacksonville will ever experience. Looking back on it, considering how important the NFL is to Jacksonville, had all of that stuff not occurred, this town would be a different place."
By no means was it a smooth comeback. Negotiations between Weaver and Austin often got contentious.
It prompted then city chief of staff and future mayor John Delaney to say: "I've seen some tough negotiators over the years with criminal defense lawyers, but Wayne was a tough one. Wayne will argue over a nickel. Thankfully, Ed and Wayne's friendship never faltered over it."
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Jacksonville pounces on St. Louis fumble
Even the NFL was hesitant to give Jacksonville an expansion team. In October 1993, it awarded Charlotte a franchise, then delayed announcing the other city for six weeks, presumably so St. Louis could get its act together and resolve ongoing issues with two different ownership groups.
Jacksonville, Baltimore and Memphis were considered behind St. Louis, which had already lost the Cardinals to Phoenix in 1988, in the pecking order.
But true to Weaver's determined business nature, he repeatedly emphasized to the NFL that it would never regret going to Jacksonville, despite its smaller market size and lower profile.
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"Wayne is one of a kind," said Petway. "Not many people have all the skills he had coming from a small town in Georgia. He's just a bulldog whether it's the shoe business or football. He's relentless when he gets his mind made up."
The persuasive Weaver convinced NFL owners to see it his way, and along with the St. Louis groups being fractured, Jacksonville pulled off a historic upset. It forever etched the Weaver name in city history when the league officially made the Jaguars the NFL's 30th team on Nov. 30, 1993.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, celebrating on November 30, 1993 after the city was awarded an NFL expansion franchise, and his wife Delores have made a lasting impact by being leaders in the football arena and as financial supporters of numerous charitable organizations.
"Having a major pro team goes a long way," Petway said. "It makes the statement that you have your act together and can handle the impact of big business.
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"Some cities fail at that. It was a godsend that Wayne Weaver came and did what he did. It could have gone bad if we had the wrong guy."
Over 17 NFL seasons, during which the Jaguars made six playoff appearances and compiled a 143-140 record under the Weavers' ownership, employees understood the challenges of a small-market franchise surviving.
"We felt the Weavers' commitment every day," said Brian Sexton, the team's original play-by-play voice and now a team senior correspondent. "They knew what it was going to take for the Jaguars to be successful in the community.
"They were always pushing people to understand we were the smaller market and would have to work harder and be more efficient. They were indefatigable. You couldn't tell them it wasn't going to work."
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Delores a true partner in Wayne's world
Many wives of NFL owners prefer to stay in the background, and tend to keep a much lower profile than their spouses.
Delores Weaver was never that woman.
From the moment she and her husband owned the team, it was Delores who took the charitable initiative as the lead chair of the Jaguars' Foundation. She spearheaded a philanthropy effort that would earn her a reputation as the gold standard for giving back to the community.
In a 1998 interview, this was Wayne's assessment of his lifetime partner: "The thing I admire most about my wife is her passion for wanting to change the world. She believes down in the depth of her soul that she can make the world a better place."
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Not surprising then that Delores' fingerprints are all over the northeast Florida non-profit world. Whether it's the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center (advancing the rights of young females), the Women's Giving Alliance, the Pace Center for Girls, the DBW Legacy Fund — along with countless grants given to causes tied to education, the arts, etc. — she remains a giant figure in Jacksonville circles.
"The Weavers were such a great partnership because they worked so well with the foundation," said Sexton. "There was never a situation where Delores wasn't at the table. She had the same weight as Wayne did when it came to managing the franchise.
"Delores was the driving force behind the Jaguars not just having a foundation, but being pioneering in their efforts. She wasn't there to do little things, she wanted to do big things. She opened doors for women. She made sure there was an opportunity for equality for women in sports."
Once the team's sale to Khan was approved by NFL owners on Dec. 14, 2011, the Jaguars quickly moved to putting Wayne and Delores into the Pride of the Jaguars on New Year's Day, 2012.
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It was only fitting the Weavers were inducted into the Pride together. Few NFL owners have had wives or daughters — except for women who took over teams after an owner's passing — with such a commanding public presence.
"Mrs. Weaver obviously took the lead on philanthropy and Wayne on the football side of things, but all major decisions, they made together," said Peter Racine, senior vice-president of the Jaguars' Foundation and a team employee since 2000. "The amount they still do in Jacksonville despite the aging process. ... they don't stop.
"The landscape of Jacksonville has completely changed because of their philanthropy. So many people thought they were philanthropic until Delores came to town. She set a standard."
Delaney appreciates how much the Weavers, 13 years after selling the team, have stayed connected to Jacksonville and keep financially supporting charities with the same vigor as when they owned the Jaguars.
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"In our lifetime, there hasn't been any couple that's had their kind of influence," said Delaney. "They were politically opposite, but they were philanthropic from the beginning and they fell in love with the town."
Khan was Weaver's dream buyer
Weaver told me in 2021 that his initial plan was to own the team another two or three years longer than he did, but feared he wouldn't be able to find a more ideal successor than Khan.
Dec. 16, 2011: (Left to right) Jacksonville Jaguars former owner Wayne Weaver, his wife Delores Barr Weaver, Ann Khan and her husband, and new Jaguars owner Shahid Khan pose for photos after Khan's formal introduction in Jacksonville Friday afternoon. Jacksonville Jaguars former team owner Wayne Weaver introduced the team's new owner, Shad Khan to the media and local officials Friday afternoon in the West Touchdown Club of EverBank Field.
Priority No. 1 for Weaver on selling was identifying an owner he trusted would not move the team to potential greener pastures.
"I knew I couldn't control what [Khan] did or not after buying the team," Weaver told the T-U in 2021. "We had all kinds of conversations about keeping the team in Jacksonville. We were just stewards from the time we owned it. I hoped that was the way Shad would treat it."
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Through multiple meetings, and knowing Khan had deeper pockets than him, Weaver gained comfort that he found a potential owner who would honor a pledge to make the franchise work in Jacksonville.
"When Wayne sold the team, it was important to him that the team stayed," Boselli said. "Shad [Khan] is the perfect owner for us. Now they do [ownership] differently. It could be personality-driven, could be a lot of things.
"I feel fortunate we've had two owners who have invested in the team, the community and the city. That's not always the case."
Before Khan came along, Weaver and his minority partners were getting antsy about the team's future in Jacksonville.
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"We had a good partnership, but we were all getting older and we didn't see any succession plan," said Petway. "We were running out of time."
It became Jacksonville's good fortune that Khan's attempt to buy a 60 percent controlling interest of the then-St. Louis Rams in 2010 were foiled by Stan Kroenke, who owned the other 40 percent and had first right of refusal to purchase 100 percent of the team. He exercised that option, became majority owner, then paid a $550 million relocation fee to move the Rams to Los Angeles in 2016.
So Khan decided to pursue another avenue to get into the NFL's most exclusive club. He set his sights on Weaver's team, and that transfer of power was a huge factor in the Jaguars staying put.
"The legacy that Wayne Weaver has is he brought it to Jacksonville and battled to keep it, then Shad took over and carried out the legacy Wayne wanted," said Sexton. "I'm not sure there are many owners in sports that would do that.
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"It's awesome that the franchise is still here and Wayne at 90 can look at it. Even though there's not a Lombardi in the Jaguars' trophy case, the future for the NFL in Jacksonville [with a new stadium deal] is very bright."
Weavers have enriched Jacksonville
Weaver also took care of Jacksonville's franchise in another way before his departure. He helped forge the NFL's 2011 collective bargaining agreement that made it easier for small-market teams to compete with the big-revenue franchises in Dallas , Denver , Chicago and Washington.
Former Jacksonville Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, left, watches the team in training camp in August with Skip Richardson, the team’s director of security.
Nobody is more grateful for how Weaver set up the Jaguars' future than Khan, whose net worth was $2.5 billion when he purchased the team and is now $13.3 billion, according to Forbes.
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That sentiment has only grown stronger as Khan, set to begin his 14th year of ownership, sees his mentor entering his 10th decade of life.
"Anytime Wayne Weaver celebrates a birthday is an occasion to reflect upon and appreciate everything he has done for the NFL and the Jacksonville community," Khan said. "That's especially true on his 90th birthday. What a milestone! Wayne and his wife Delores will always have my deepest gratitude for trusting in me to continue the legacy of the Jaguars here where they intended, in Jacksonville, Florida.
"There is no finer person than Wayne Weaver, and I wish him many more birthdays of health and happiness with his family."
Looking back, so many things had to fall into place for Weaver to own the Jaguars. Between brother Ron's Jacksonville connections, then Wayne's willingness to resume the fight to pursue an NFL team, this impending nonagenarian made it all work for his adopted city's benefit.
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Coughlin, 78, minces no words when talking about the Weavers' impact on northeast Florida. He views them as Hall of Fame people.
"There's no question about that," said Coughlin. "You're not reaching to talk about that. Both individually were strong, determined visionaries of many interests. Together, they are a great team."
But no move Wayne Weaver made in a lifetime of achievement was more important than picking Sybol Delores Barr as his wife and business partner.
That set in motion seven decades of Weaver success in multiple facets, and Jacksonville is all the richer for it.
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(In 1998, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the NFL awarding Jacksonville the Jaguars franchise, then-owner J. Wayne Weaver sat down with the Times-Union to reflect on the birth of the Jaguars and its first years. Here is the second part of that conversation.)
Gfrenette@jacksonville.com : (904) 359-4540; Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @genefrenette
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jaguars original owner Wayne Weaver turns 90
