Janice McNair, co-founder and longtime owner of the Houston Texans, has died at 89. McNair passed away on July 14, 2026.
Born September 30, 1936, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, McNair attended Columbia College, where she met her future husband, Bob McNair. She worked closely alongside him throughout his career, including during his founding of Cogen Technologies, which was sold to Enron and CalPERS in 1999. Together, the couple co-founded the Houston Texans that same year.
Following Bob McNair’s death in 2018, Janice McNair stepped into the role of the team’s principal owner, taking the title of senior chair while her son Cal took on day-to-day operations as CEO. She was one of 10 female NFL team owners or co-owners at the time and, as of 2019, was recognized as the richest female sports owner in the United States, with a net worth estimated at $4 billion.
In late 2023, McNair’s son Robert Cary McNair Jr. filed for guardianship over his mother, a request Janice and her son Cal responded to by stating it was unnecessary. Both sides jointly dropped the case in February 2024, and in March 2024, Janice formally transferred principal ownership of the Texans to Cal.
McNair was also known for her philanthropy. In 1989, she and her husband established the Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation to help Rutherford County high school graduates afford college, a fund that has since awarded roughly $2.6 million in financial aid. In 2019, she donated $5 million to Pro Vision Inc, a community initiative in Houston’s Sunnyside neighbourhood, reported at the time as the largest single donation ever made by an NFL owner. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she also gave $1 million to a Houston rent relief fund supporting residents facing eviction.