Carlie Irsay-Gordon is the owner Colts fans need, and deserve

The Colts couldn’t be in better hands.

All signs point to Carlie Irsay-Gordon taking over the Indianapolis Colts from her late father Jim Irsay, who passed away on Wednesday. At the age of 44 she will be one of the youngest owners in NFL history, with only Al Davis (43) and her father (37) taking over teams at a younger age.

While it’s natural for fans to be nervous about any ownership shift, this is the Colts own equivalent of going from Peyton Manning to Andrew Luck. Irsay-Gordon has been prepared to take on the mantle of Colts owner for years, and comes with a resume that money can’t buy.

Following in her father’s footsteps

From a young age Carlie Irsay-Gordon was molded to become the primary owner of the Colts. Much as Robert Irsay groomed Jim to be his successor after moving the team from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1974.

Irsay-Gordon started to learn the family business out of college, when she began working in the team’s ticket office, before joining the marketing department. She began representing the Colts at NFL owners meetings In 2004, at the age of 23 — and it was quickly apparent that Irsay-Gordon wasn’t a talentless nepo baby who obtained a seat at the table without merit, but rather someone who threw herself fully into football, garnering massive respect from those around her.

Intimately involved in the day-to-day operations of the Colts, Irsay-Gordon’s biggest test came in 2014 when she was forced to take over the team while her father checked into rehab. It was during this time the 33-year-old garnered immense praise from people inside the Colts organization for her attention to detail and football knowledge, with former GM Ryan Grigson explaining her deep understanding of the NFL.

“She never ceases to amaze me with some of the questions she asks. She has it,” Grigson said. “I’ve told this to Jim because I know these are the things that he would like to hear. And it’s why [coach] Chuck [Pagano] and I have a great working relationship with her, because she gets it. It’s not like we’re sitting here trying to explain things to her. She already has a really good base of knowledge, and not just from an operations standpoint with dollars and [the salary] cap.”

From here Irsay-Gordon took on a bigger role inside the NFL, even after her father’s return. She continued to represent the Colts at owners meetings, while also joining the league’s Digital Media Committee, Fan Conduct Committee, and Player Care Foundation.

A true renaissance woman

To say that Irsay-Gordon has a wide array of interests would be an understatement. Despite being raised on Colts football she majored in religious studies and geology for her undergraduate degree, before pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Her interest in psychology led to Carlie and sister Kalen to spearhead “Kicking the Stigma,” an Colts charity focused on mental health. This not only offers instructions on how people can address mental health issues with friends and family, but aims to arranged mental health services for the underprivileged in Indianapolis. This includes funding grants for HOPE Family Care Center, which allows people without medical insurance or money to afford seeing a mental health professional.

Through a Kicking The Stigma Action Grant, HOPE Family Care Center is able to regularly offer counseling services to a population that otherwise wouldn’t have access to such a vital part of their wellbeing. One in four adults with frequent mental health distress do not see a doctor due to cost, according to research conducted by Mental Health America.

This charity has been her primary outreach focus since launching the initiative in 2021.

Irsay-Gordon is loved by those around her

Often described as humble and unassuming, Irsay-Gordon often surprises people when they find out she’s an heir to the Irsay dynasty.

“She doesn’t drop her name, but obviously everybody on our board knows who she is. If somebody would walk into the room and didn’t know who was who, they wouldn’t know she was an Irsay. ... She just has a grace about her. I could never imagine Carlie as the type of person who would walk around using her name. ... I just couldn’t imagine that.”

It’s natural for people who give deference to the boss’ daughter, but in the case of Carlie Irsay-Gordon her reputation has been deserved every step of the way. It’s a rare case of nepotism gone right, with Jim picking Carlie from an early age to be his successor and understanding she has the demeanor to do it.

While it’s highly likely she will be part of an ownership team with her sisters Casey Foyt and Kalen Irsay-Johnson, it’s expected that Carlie will be the one calling the shots on a day-to-day basis moving forward. It’s tough to imagine the Colts being in better hands, and preparing his daughter for steady ownership will only add to Jim Irsay’s football legacy.