Actresses Rooney And Kate Mara Are Heirs To Not One But TWO NFL Dynasties Worth A Combined $20.7 Billion
Imagine how amazing it would be to be an heir to an NFL team. Now imagine you're the heir to TWO NFL teams. Not only that, you're a beautiful and famous celebrity. And so is your sister.
That's real life for Rooney and Kate Mara.
Kate Mara and Rooney Mara have both built impressive Hollywood careers entirely separate from football. Rooney earned Academy Award nominations for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and "Carol," while Kate has starred in projects including "House of Cards," "127 Hours," and "Fantastic Four."
But acting is actually the newer family business. For roughly a century, the Mara and Rooney names have been deeply intertwined with professional football. Their father's family founded the New York Giants. Their mother's family founded the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And these aren't merely two old football teams carrying famous family names. According to recent estimates, the Giants are worth $12 billion, while the Steelers are worth $8.7 billion. That's a combined value of $20.7 billion.
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The Mara Dynasty: From $500 To $12 Billion
The Mara family's football fortune began with Kate and Rooney's paternal great-grandfather, Tim Mara. Born in 1887 and raised on Manhattan's Lower East Side, Mara left school as a teenager and eventually became a bookmaker.
In 1925, the young National Football League desperately wanted a viable franchise in New York, the country's largest media market. League president Joseph Carr was introduced to Mara and offered him the opportunity to operate the team. The price of admission was almost comically small by modern standards: $500.
The investment initially looked terrible. Professional football was still far less popular than college football, and Mara reportedly had to put another $25,000 into the Giants just to keep the franchise alive during its first season. Then, in December 1925, the Giants hosted the Chicago Bears and college football superstar Red Grange at the Polo Grounds. More than 70,000 people showed up, demonstrating that professional football could attract an enormous New York audience.
The Giants survived while plenty of other early professional football teams did not. Tim Mara eventually handed control of the franchise to his sons, Jack and Wellington Mara. Wellington became one of the most influential executives in NFL history, spending decades overseeing the Giants and helping shape the league's revenue-sharing system.
Wellington's son John Mara is Kate and Rooney's uncle and currently serves as the Giants' president and CEO. The ownership structure has evolved significantly over the years. In 1991, the Tisch family purchased 50% of the franchise. In 2025, the Mara and Tisch families each sold part of their holdings to billionaire Julia Koch and her family, leaving the Mara family with approximately 45% of the Giants, the Tisch family with another 45%, and the Koch family with a 10% non-controlling interest.
At a current estimated franchise valuation of approximately $12 billion, the Mara family's collective 45% stake would be notionally worth around $5.4 billion.
Not bad for a family business that began with a $500 franchise fee.
The Rooney Dynasty: From $2,500 To $8.7 Billion
Kate and Rooney's mother's side of the family has an equally remarkable NFL origin story. Their maternal great-grandfather, Art Rooney Sr., founded the franchise now known as the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1933.
Rooney was a colorful Pittsburgh sportsman who boxed, played minor league baseball, promoted sporting events, and loved horse racing. According to longstanding Rooney family lore, gambling winnings helped finance his football ambitions. What we know for certain is that Art Rooney paid the NFL a $2,500 franchise fee in 1933.
The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Pirates, sharing a name with the city's baseball team. In 1940, Rooney changed the name to the Steelers in honor of Pittsburgh's dominant steel industry.
Unlike the Giants, the Steelers did not quickly become a powerhouse. For roughly their first four decades, they were mostly terrible. That changed after Chuck Noll became head coach in 1969 and the organization began assembling one of the greatest dynasties in NFL history.
Led by players including Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, "Mean" Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Lynn Swann, and Mel Blount, the Steelers won four Super Bowls in six seasons during the 1970s. The franchise later added two more championships, giving Pittsburgh six Super Bowl titles.
After Art Rooney Sr., leadership passed primarily through his son Dan Rooney, who became one of the most influential owners in professional football. Dan also served as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and played a central role in creating the NFL's "Rooney Rule."
Today, Dan's son Art Rooney II serves as the Steelers' president and controlling owner. The Rooney family remains in control of the franchise, although a number of outside minority investors also own stakes. The Steelers are now worth approximately $8.7 billion, an astonishing evolution from the $2,500 franchise fee Art Rooney Sr. paid in 1933.
So How Are Kate And Rooney Related To Both Teams?
The family tree becomes much easier to understand if you look at one generation at a time.
On their father's side, Kate and Rooney's great-grandfather was Tim Mara, founder of the New York Giants. Tim's son Wellington Mara became the team's longtime owner. Wellington's son Timothy Christopher Mara is Kate and Rooney's father. Another of Wellington's sons, John Mara, is their uncle and currently runs the Giants.
On their mother's side, their great-grandfather was Art Rooney Sr., founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Art's son Timothy James "Tim" Rooney was their maternal grandfather. Tim Rooney's daughter, Kathleen McNulty Rooney, married Timothy Christopher Mara.
That marriage joined two of the oldest ownership families in professional football. And if you've ever wondered why Patricia Rooney Mara goes professionally by the name Rooney Mara, well, now you know where that middle name comes from.
Tim Mara paid just $500 for the Giants franchise in 1925. Art Rooney Sr. paid $2,500 for the Pittsburgh franchise in 1933. Today, those two teams are worth a combined estimated $20.7 billion.
Not a bad family tree.
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