Khan envisioning the future success of the Jacksonville Jaguars (Melina Vastola/USA Today Sports/Jaguars Wire).
Name a more distinguished individual to finish out Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month than Shahid Khan. There is none. The Jacksonville Jaguars’ owner has an inspiring story that inspires everyone who knows it. Khan is an important representation in the league that shows young people all across the world that they too can actualize their dreams, in the NFL and otherwise. Let’s learn a little more about Shahid Khan below!
Shad Khan’s Origin Story
Shahid Rafiq Khan, often going by Shad Khan, was born in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1950. In case it needs to be clarified, Pakistani people are Asians—they are located in South Asia. Geography classes in my American education didn’t do a great job explaining that, so I’m assuming it may be the case for others.
Childhood
Khan was raised in a middle-class family to Rafiq and Zakia Khan. Mr. Khan was an entrepreneur that sold construction industry equipment. Mrs. Khan was a math professor. She still lives in Lahore with her younger son, Faran, who is also a businessman. The Khan gentlemen were born with business in their blood. Shahid’s childhood friends would call it an instinct.
Mr. Khan raised his boys to be humble and frugal. Shahid had natural business acuity that his father encouraged. As a child, he would build and sell radios and would rent out his comic books to his friends. That’s an iconic childhood background in business. In addition to fleecing his friends, Khan showed his love for sports by spending much of his time at the local cricket stadium. He watched, not played. And was proud to have never purchased a ticket—he just showed up late when the game was free. We love a deal!
When Khan turned 16 he was done with his pre-college education. Pakistan subscribes to the British education system, like many countries in that region due to colonization. At age 16, children either pursue college or pursue other forms of education like vocational school. Even at 16, Khan knew America was where he was heading. He started his mechanical engineering degree at the University of Illinois with just $500 in his wallet.
The “American Dream”
In a candid interview in Lahore, Khan was open about his decision to leave for the States. Returning to his family’s home was meaningful for the businessman because of his loved ones, but his nostalgia for Pakistan is non-existent. Despite being the mother of a billionaire with every bell and whistle in her home that she wants, there’s still no overcoming obstacles like power outages.
Khan explains it well in this quote from the interview: “Because, oh my God, I mean you know, you’ve been here. See how hard things are? You know, power’s going out, it’s 108 degrees. It’s tough. But I think this is physical things. I think the biggest impediment here is that hope, and you know, getting to the next stage. It doesn’t matter how hard you work, there are forces that kind of prevent you from being the best you can be.” That’s a little insight for us all.
The “American Dream” is just that for newly immigrated individuals, usually. Khan believed in that dream when he immigrated as a child with just a few hundred dollars. Upon arriving, Khan stayed at the YMCA for $2 a night for a few days before the dorm opened. On his second day in America, Khan went job-shopping out of fear of running out of money. He found a gig washing dishes and had this to say in the interview: “A buck 20 an hour, that’s big money, I mean, more than what 99 percent of the people in Pakistan were making. I can control my destiny, I control my life.” In hindsight, we can see he was going places with an attitude like that.
College Days
While attending college, Khan, of course, stayed busy. He worked for a company, Flex-N-Gate, throughout college and did the sorority thing with Beta Theta Pi. He also met the love of his life, but we’ll discuss that later. Khan would graduate with a BSc in Industrial Engineering in 1971. He was so beloved by his alma mater that he won the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999 along with other similar accolades.
Upon graduation, Khan was hired as engineering director at Flex-N-Gate. He left to create his own business called Bumper Works. In 1980, Khan bought Flex-N-Gate and merged it with Bumper Works. Under the guidance of Khan, we knew the business would grow.
The Business Ventures of Shahid Khan
Khan grew his business slowly but surely. A great example would be his work with Toyota. In 1984, he created bumpers for a few Toyotas here and there. Three years later, his business was making bumpers for all Toyota trucks. In two more years he was making bumpers for every Toyota. In 10 years, from 2010 to 2020, Khan’s business went from $2 billion in sales to $8.89 billion. In 2019, Flex-N-Gate had 25,000 employees with 69 manufacturing plants in multiple countries. It is also the 7th biggest American auto parts supplier.
In the 2010s, Khan decided to give sports a shot. In 2010, he tried and struck out with becoming the majority owner of the St. Louis Rams. In 2011, he became the sole owner of the Jaguars after paying $770 million. Khan was the first racial minority to ever buy a team and one of three NFL owners who were born outside of America. He became a American citizen in 1991. Oh, how far we haven’t come. In addition to owning a team, Khan is also a board member of the NFL Foundation.
2013 marked Khan’s entrance into the soccer team ownership world. He bought the London English Premier League team Fulham F.C. for somewhere between $100 and $200 million. Khan also has his hand in wrestling, which we will discuss more later. His other business venture included being a majority shareholder for the now defunct Black News Channel. Khan is the 175th richest person in the world, with a net worth of 13.1 billion.
Family Matters
Shad Khan met his future wife, Ann Carlson, in college. The couple waited for 10 years before tying the knot in 1977. Some say you know when you know; long engagements mean he isn’t interested. Ann Carlson Khan might argue with you on that point, though. They are two years away from their 50th anniversary. The couple owns multiple properties and shares a super-yacht called Kismet.
The lovebirds have two children—Shanna and Tony. Shanna Khan got married last year in a super luxurious wedding. She is absolutely beautiful, stealing all the good genes from both parents before Tony could get them. Shanna is the philanthropic and thoughtful member of her family, using and growing a portion of her family’s wealth to benefit others through avenues like large donations to multiple causes.
Tony Khan is rumored to be a real piece of work. He works at all of the sports teams that his father owns. With the help of his daddy’s money, he is the founder and also the co-owner, president, CEO, GM, executive producer, and more of All Elite Wrestling. It’s sweet to see Shahid Khan so engaged with his son’s business ventures.
More About Jacksonville
Despite some very audacious fans who probably don’t even own their own house having strong critiques for Khan’s ownership of the Jaguars,. Pointing at any perceived flaw in Khan’s business sense is hard to do—his biggest problem is likely believing in his son too much.
Currently, the Jaguars are worth just under $3.5 billion, making them the 28th most valuable team in the league. That’s hardly impressive, but it is on its way. The value jumped 24% between 2022 and 2023. It’s not where you start; it’s where you end up. And if Flex-N-Gate is any example, up is where the Jacksonville Jaguars will end up.
Shahid Khan Faces Racism
In the candid interview previously referenced, Khan was very honest about his experiences with racism. There is probably not a more laid-back individual than Khan—rocks are easier to offend than he is. After a lifetime of xenophobia and Islamophobia, the only thing that really got a rise out of the businessman was being detained at the American border, particularly a six-hour detainment, after traveling back from Pakistan multiple times post 9/11.
After purchasing the Jacksonville Jaguars, Florida responded with some of the most disgusting racist and Islamophobic comments ever. Khan is a non-practicing Muslim, meaning he was raised that way but doesn’t practice himself. If anything, that makes the claims of those foolish people even more ignorant. Islamophobia is never appropriate, whether the individual is practicing or not, of course.
After facing being called a terrorist, racial epithets that include the word sand and a primate put together, and ignorant questions like asking if prayer rugs came with season tickets Khan has dealt with it all. The people who say things like that need to pray long and hard. Backlash was strong enough that the prior owner of the Jaguars was afraid Khan would give up the team and gave him the option to.
Shahid Khan is no stranger to prejudice, though, and if anything, he used their hate to become more determined to be the owner of the team. Although he is fairly quiet about his own experiences, he is very vocal about the racial injustices he sees in America. Khan truly understands MLK’s quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
Final Thoughts
Shahid Khan is an icon in the sports world. He is the living epitome of the “American Dream” concept, serving as an inspiration to people everywhere. Khan has proved to children of all races and nationalities that they can reach for the stars and catch one. It’s high time that we see more representation of Asians in the league, and Shahid Khan owning a team is the beginning, not the end, of the progress we need to see.
Khan leads the Jaguars with an open mind and empathy for others that shows through his leadership. Unlike most, he can relate his own experience with bigotry and channel that into a passion for racial justice for all. Many people lose touch with the struggles of everyday people when they become filthy rich. Not Shahid Khan. We can all benefit from being a little more like Khan, especially our children. Being an NFL owner is an attainable goal, and the youth of today shouldn’t forget it.
Don’t forget to take a look at the other AAPI Heritage Month articles here, here, and here. While you’re on The Forkball’s website, make sure to catch our Jewish American Heritage Month articles here. May is also Jewish American Heritage Month. You don’t want to miss these articles, scouts honor.
