Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft and Lorenzo Fertitta.
Those are three very powerful (not to mention very wealthy) sports moguls. However, one of them doesn't belong in this particular group. Jones and Kraft are owners of two of the most popular and successful professional football teams in the National Football League (NFL), running operations for The Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots, respectively.
Fertitta, on the other hand, is co-owner of the world's largest and most successful mixed martial arts (MMA) organization -- Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He, along with his brother Frank, joined forces with UFC President Dana White in 2001 to buy the struggling fight promotion.
Eleven years and a few million dollars later, the Fertittas, along with White, have created a billion-dollar company, breaking down barriers few ever thought possible such as landing a landmark network television deal with FOX.
Proving to be a very successful businessman, Fertitta may one day join Kraft and Jones in the NFL owners box. According to White, anyway, who appeared on The Dan LeBatard Show (via MMA Weekly), saying he wouldn't be surprised to see the Fertitta brothers owning their very own NFL team down the road.
Check it out:
"Fighting is all I care about, it's what I really do, and what I love. I've always loved it since I was a kid, but Lorenzo, my partner, is a football fanatic. I would not be shocked if Lorenzo ends up owning an NFL team. I would not be shocked. He's an awesome owner. They're very smart guys and they're great guys to work for. They're very generous to everybody. They would be a great fit for the NFL and they're very aggressive guys. They go into a market where a team hasn't been doing well, I think they're the guys that could turn a team around. They'd be kick ass owners."
Lorenzo's successful business ventures didn't begin with the UFC, however. Before becoming head-honcho over at ZUFFA, Fertitta honed his craft in the family business, Station Casinos, serving as President for eight years.
Last year, White made the announcement that Lorenzo would be leaving his post with Station Casinos to focus all of his efforts on the UFC. The move proved to be a wise one as evidenced by the aforementioned deal with Fox, as well as the promotions ventures into new territories such as Japan, Abu-Dhabi, Australia, with India coming in the near future.
So, a move over to the gridiron, isn't so far-fetched.
Anything's possible, as evidenced by former NBA superstar Earvin ‘Magic" Johnson's joining of a group who opened up their wallets to purchase Major League Baseball (MLB) team, The Los Angeles Dodgers, earlier this year for a whopping $2 billion.
How about it Maniacs, any of you see Fertitta successfully crossing over his business-savvy ways that helped the UFC become the world-wide leader in MMA, over to the football field and turning a struggling franchise around someday?
Maybe your favorite team, perhaps?