Why Colts players say Carlie Irsay-Gordon is unlike any other NFL owner

INDIANAPOLIS -- Another Indianapolis Colts season had just ended in disappointment, and now players were being summoned by the co-owner, unsure of what to expect.

It was January 2025, and amid unresolved questions about the direction of the team following an 8-9 finish, Mo Alie-Cox and his fellow tight ends found themselves headed to the opposite end of the Colts complex, where the owners' office suites are located.

Carlie Irsay-Gordon had asked to see them.

"I had never even been on that side of the building," said Alie-Cox, now in his eighth season with the Colts. "I didn't know what was going on.

"I was like, 'Bro, ownership is calling for us? S---.' I was telling the younger guys, this ain't ever happened. And I've been here for a while."

There was reason for concern considering the Colts' tight ends were second-to-last in the NFL in receiving yards (467) last season and widely identified as one of the team's weak spots.

But Irsay-Gordon, who ascended to owner and CEO in June following the cardiac arrest death of her father, Jim Irsay, wasn't looking to assign blame for a disappointing season.

"She wanted to make sure that any necessary changes were being made around the building," Alie-Cox said. "She just wanted to make sure we felt at home and felt comfortable.

"And those changes have definitely taken place. She was asking stuff about the cafeteria, travel -- a bunch of different things. It showed she definitely cares about us as players for her to take our advice."

Irsay-Gordon did the same with every position group.

"I was like, 'Whoa!'" left tackle Bernhard Raimann said of his meeting with Irsay-Gordon. "I was not expecting that at all."

Her interactions -- whether buying fans a round of drinks before a win in Berlin or exercising in the weight room alongside players -- do not give off the vibes of a billionaire boss. Players describe Irsay-Gordon as unlike any other owner they've encountered, from her accessibility to authentic interest in each person. But they say she balances that by communicating a high standard that she is unwilling to compromise.

"There's a comfortability because we're so familiar," linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "But, make no mistake, she's in charge."

Much has been made of Irsay-Gordon's long-standing practice of watching games from the Colts' sideline and following the action on the coaches' headset with a playcall sheet in hand. Television cameras often pan to her during games and there has been something of a public fascination about it all in recent months with the Colts tied for the best record in the NFL (8-2).

But even before she moved to the sideline in 2021, she wasn't watching games from the owner's suite, where her father typically hosted large groups of friends and family. Instead, she watched from a nondescript booth reserved for members of the football operations staff, analyzing the action on the field below with the people informing the team's personnel decisions.

"Somebody asked me, is she micromanaging? I'm like, 'No, man.' She's genuinely just trying to learn and educate herself on the whole complexity of being an NFL owner," linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. said.

Irsay-Gordon's immersion in football operations likely gave her the confidence to authorize last week's blockbuster trade with the New York Jets. Indianapolis sent two first-round picks and receiver Adonai Mitchell to New York for two-time All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner, and Irsay-Gordon was keeping tabs on the situation throughout.

After weeks of conversations, she and general manager Chris Ballard had their weekly Monday meeting on Nov. 3, the day before the trade. In that meeting, according to a team source, she gave Ballard final approval after the teams had agreed in principle.

Irsay-Gordon, who has chosen to decline interview requests for the remainder of the season, is the oldest of Jim Irsay's three daughters, sharing ownership with her sisters Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson. Each has developed her own expertise and role within the organization, but Irsay-Gordon has always been drawn to the management side of the business. As such, she has taken on the role of principal owner and CEO after her father's passing. Foyt's title is owner and executive vice president while Jackson is owner and chief brand officer.

But the breadth of Irsay-Gordon's duties hasn't changed much. She's still immersed in all areas of the business, just as she had been for years. She's still inquisitive, seeking clarity on issues from marketing to matters that might seem like minutiae.

It was Irsay-Gordon's idea, for instance, to permit non-football employees to work remotely on Wednesdays. That was a product of her daily engagement and understanding the value of flexibility.

"You have to be open-minded," Irsay-Gordon said of her approach earlier this year. "You have to be a good listener."

Listening, it seems, can go a long way. It's the reason, for instance, that Irsay-Gordon recently extended a standing invitation to Michael Pittman Jr.'s family to check out her array of English horseback riding tack, like saddles and helmets. Irsay-Gordon and Pittman's wife, Kianna, share a love of horses.

"She knows things about her players," Pittman said, "where most owners are probably like, 'Oh, he shows up on Sundays and he's a good player and catches the football.' "

Pittman said Irsay-Gordon's interest isn't limited to the high-profile players.

"She doesn't care if you're [star running back] Jonathan Taylor or you're a practice-squad player," he said. "She wants to hear what everybody has to say, and you just don't see that among other owners... I could wake up in the middle of the night and call her and she would answer the phone."

Said Raimann: "The Irsays are always trying to get to know each and every single one of us on an individual basis. I've never been on another team, but I was very surprised by that.

"It makes it so much easier to play for this team. Ownership that cares so deeply about everything definitely makes it easier to go into work and give it your all every day, because they're doing the same for you."

With Irsay-Gordon, there is no wasted time. Even when she's in the weight room hitting the StairMaster, players say, she does so while reviewing documents or going over notes.

She spends hours in team and position meetings throughout the day, all part of her insistence on understanding the details. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason said recently that he can't think of a meeting he's conducted when Irsay-Gordon wasn't in the room.

She doesn't chime in, players say. In fact, Pittman said that during his rookie season in 2020, she was sitting in the back row during wide receiver meetings for more than a month before he realized who she was.

Walker said she's stopped him in the hallway to seek further elaboration on issues discussed in a meeting.

"I think when you immerse yourself into the environment and you go through that daily grind with us, it's easier to make suggestions and make decisions," Walker said. "I think she does a great job."

It's perhaps no surprise that Irsay-Gordon would adopt this leadership style, given her family's history. The Irsays have owned the Colts since 1972, and Jim Irsay began working in the franchise at the lowest levels at a young age. He encouraged the same approach with his daughters, prompting them to find areas within the business that interested them.

As a young team executive, Jim Irsay was a constant presence around the team. He was a powerlifter in the 1980s, often joining players as they lifted weights. Back then, he often was seen as more of a colleague than the team's future owner.

The Colts franchise is among a dwindling number of long-held, family-owned NFL clubs. With the prospect of private equity firms getting involved in ownership on the horizon, family-owned teams could become even more scarce.