NFL team owners collect millions in revenue. They wield outsized power over their organizations and in their communities. They point to the bottom line, wins and losses, when firing coaches and executives, sometimes without giving them much time. But their own won-lost records appear nowhere.

Even people who follow the NFL closely might not know whether Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross owns a better record than New York Giants owner John Mara (he does).

They might not know whether female owners account for two of the five highest winning percentages since taking over their teams (they do).

They might not know that the only team without a traditional owner could lose 200 games overnight without dipping below .500 (the Green Bay Packers could).

They might not know that five of the last six owners to buy (rather than inherit) a team make up the bottom five in win percentage (they do — the lone exception is the Buffalo Bills’ Terry Pegula).

Some of these ownership situations are difficult to evaluate for reasons such as owners allowing their offspring to operate their teams. I’ve used simple criteria in ranking owners from worst to best win rates below. For our purposes, wins and losses are counted for owners after the NFL has approved their purchases; after an owner…

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Three minutes before the weekly mental training session, motorized curtains drop and gradually erase the panorama of pines and aspens crawling up the side of Humphreys Peak. The lights go down. No vista of 12,000-foot mountains set against blue sky over the next 20 minutes. Only a smiling performance psychologist on the auditorium screen for the athletes in the first four rows, the lissome caretakers of a modern college sports dynasty, snacking on health bars and yogurt after a lift, ready to meditate.

Breath is meditation’s most basic focus, they’re told. For many cultures, breath is known as spirit. It’s a sermon to believers: The closed eyes and quieted minds in the room belong to Northern Arizona’s cross-country team, a group that obsesses over oxygen and generally has mastered what to do with it. The program has won six of the last seven men’s NCAA championships. It finished second the other time. Meanwhile, on this particular Wednesday in October, the school has the nation’s No. 1 men’s team and No. 1 women’s team. That hasn’t happened anywhere in 15 years.

As long as you’re breathing, intones Shannon Thompson, the performance consultant running the session, there’s more right with you than wrong with you.

From the top row, Mike…

One day in 2019, Arizona Cardinals employees arrived at the team’s headquarters in Tempe, made their way to their offices or cubicles on the second or third floors, opened up their emails and found . . . An employee survey.

At most workplaces, this would be a decidedly ordinary part of the grind. But in Cardinals’ offices, the survey was monumental. Some who received it filled unglamorous, back-office jobs in finance, marketing, community relations or business development departments and had never felt like their opinions about the operation were valued. Further, many had negative feelings about the workplace but had been reluctant to share them because they felt replaceable — if they didn’t value the privilege of working for an NFL team, someone else would. 

The team, owned by the Bidwill family for nine decades, didn’t have a dedicated director of human resources at the time. Some employees wondered if they could trust that their survey answers would stay anonymous. 

Despite their fears, some employees wrote about unpleasant encounters with team owner Michael Bidwill and unwritten rules they dare not break in his presence. Many female employees addressed a variety of issues that made some of them feel like second-class citizens inside the building. After finishing…

Former Cardinals coach Vince Tobin died at the age of 79, the franchise announced Monday.

Tobin served as the team’s head coach from 1996-2000, where he amassed a career record of 29-44 (including postseason). He guided the Cardinals to their first playoff win in 50 years during the 1998 season when Arizona knocked off Dallas in the NFC Wild Card round.

He was known for his defensive-minded approach given his background. Tobin served three stints as an NFL defensive coordinator with the Bears (1986-1992), Colts (1994-1995) and Lions (2001).

Rest In Peace, Coach Tobin pic.twitter.com/XDXOPQ5Wo1

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) July 3, 2023

“Our deepest condolences go out to everyone who knew and loved Vince Tobin, and in particular his wife, Kathy, and their family,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell said in a statement. “As head coach of the Cardinals, his steady leadership was a constant and a big part of the success the team enjoyed during his tenure.

“His football legacy with us is highlighted by the thrilling 1998 season, return to the postseason and upset win at Dallas. He will also be remembered for his instrumental role in key decisions like drafting Jake Plummer and Pat Tillman. More than that, he was a consummate family man and always a class act who…