Rosalind Brewer, Dominique Dawes, Will Packer, and Rashaun Williams were approved by the NFL at the league meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, to become new limited partners of the Falcons ownership group. The additions are pending final closing of agreements, the team announced last month.
The move by the four Black personalities is important because, currently, there are only seven Black minority owners in the NFL. This is despite more than 50 percent of the league’s players identifying as black or African American and more than 70 percent of the league identifying as a person of color in 2022, according to the Bleacher Report.
The four are already business leaders. In 2021, Brewer was named the first black CEO of Walgreens, the U.S. pharmacy chain operator. Her appointment also made her the only Black woman to lead a Fortune 500 company until recently.
RELATED STORIES
Dawes is a renowned name in the history of American gymnastics. As an Olympic gymnast, Dawes competed in three Olympic Games, (the 1992 Barcelona Games, 1996 Atlanta Games, and 2000 Sydney Games) winning four Olympic medals.
When she burst into the international spotlight at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, she became the first African American gymnast to ever qualify and compete in an Olympic Games. In Spain, she and her teammates captured a bronze medal.
Packer, on the other hand, is a film producer who made history when he led the first all-Black production team in Oscars history. Packer is the founder and CEO of his own film production company called Will Packer Productions and a television, digital, and branded content company known as Will Packer Media. The Emmy-nominated producer is behind many movies such as Girls Trip, Little, Breaking In, Think Like a Man, Ride Along, The Photograph, Straight Outta Compton, What Men Want, and others.
Williams is a family office investor and financial literacy activist with over 170 investments. “Roz, Dominique, Will and Rashaun are impressive leaders who have made an impact in a variety of enterprises, while also building histories of success making a difference in the world around them and positively impacting people in ways that align very well with our Core Values,” Atlanta Falcons owner and chairman Arthur M. Blank said in a news release.
“Each brings unique talent, experience and perspective to our ownership group so I’m excited to have them on board as limited partners and to tapping their vast expertise in finding ways to continue building the Atlanta Falcons and making an even bigger difference in our community.”
They will join Brian Barker, Ron Canakaris, Warrick Dunn, Doug Hertz, Alan Kestenbaum, Edward Mendel and Derek Smith as owners of the team.
