Saints and Pelicans Owner TOM BENSON, who turned 90 last month, "isn't slowing down on the business front," according to Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. With the Saints "mired in a cycle of mediocrity" and the Pelicans "struggling even more, Benson and his health have fallen under even greater scrutiny from fans and the public." The "media-shy Benson's public appearances have been even more limited in recent years, creating a mysterious Wizard of Oz-like aura around his lofty position." Benson has "battled his share of health problems over the years." He had "quadruple bypass heart surgery" in '01. Complications from knee surgery in December '14 left him "frail and heavily medicated." The "mental anguish he endured from a contentious and protracted legal battle" with his estranged heirs "didn't help matters." But since then, Benson has "steadily recovered." He uses a wheelchair or cane to get around and a professional caretaker is "by his side 24/7." Saints and Pelicans Exec VP & GM MICKEY LOOMIS said, "It's human nature to assume that when someone physically is not as robust as they once were that they are not as robust mentally as well. But I can assure that that's not the case with him." Saints and Pelicans President DENNIS LAUSCHA added, "Trust me, he holds me and Mickey accountable for everything that happens out here. He is fully engaged." Many of Benson's contemporaries have died in recent years, leaving him among a "shrinking number of old-guard owners." However, Benson, the third oldest NFL owner, might be "busier than ever, while working feverishly to expand his estimated" $2.2B empire. Benson said, "I don't look at myself as being 90. I know I have to walk with a little cane and a little slower maybe. But mentally, I feel very good" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 8/13).
