Steelers Prospered Despite Turbulent Ownership Situation

Steelers Players Handled On-The-Field Business While Rooneys Negotiated Ownership Restructuring

MIXED EMOTIONS: In Pittsburgh, Scott Brown noted the sale of the team "put a strain" on the Rooney brothers, as Dan and Art have agreed to purchase the shares of Dan's four brothers, and there will be "mixed feelings when a deal is finalized." Dan Rooney said of the ownership restructuring, "There were times when you figured, 'Hey, is this going to be insurmountable?' We didn't deviate, so it worked out." Brown noted the Steelers "have long been a thread that has held the Rooneys together," but what "may have weighed most heavily on the four brothers as they pondered selling to [Duquesne Capital Management Chair Stanley Druckenmiller] is how synonymous the Rooneys have become with the Steelers and vice versa." Steelers investor Art Rooney Jr. said, "The organization was so connected with the Rooney family that it was almost like ... I've never been divorced or anything, but it was not a happy time." Brown wrote a Steelers win in Super Bowl XLIII "actually could hasten the process that will significantly alter the ownership structure of the franchise," as Dan Rooney is "working to add more investors to the three he announced had joined him" in December. The profile and appeal of the team "would never be higher if they become the first NFL team to win six Super Bowls" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 1/25).

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