Owning a football team in New York isn't for the faint of heart. Honestly, it’s probably one of the most grueling "hobbies" a billionaire can have. For Woody Johnson, the heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, the journey with the New York Jets has been anything but a smooth ride since he bought the team back in 2000.
You’ve likely heard the jokes. The "Same Old Jets." The butt-fumbles. The endless carousel of quarterbacks who were supposed to be the savior but ended up seeing ghosts on the field. But if you look closer at how Woody Johnson runs the show, there’s a lot more nuance—and frankly, some pretty weird details—than just "bad luck."
The Owner Who Cares Too Much (In the Wrong Ways)
There is a common misconception that Woody Johnson is a hands-off, "checkbook" owner. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, inside the walls of 1 Jets Drive, the narrative is often the opposite. Reports from The Athletic and Newsday have painted a picture of an owner who is deeply, almost obsessively, involved in the granular details of the team.
Sometimes, this is great. He spends money. He wants to win. But other times? It gets a bit strange. There were widespread reports in late 2024 that Johnson was questioning football personnel based on things his teenage sons read on sports blogs or even—believe it or not—player ratings in the Madden video game.
Imagine being a professional scout and having your boss ask why a trade target’s "speed" rating is only an 84. It creates a culture where, as one former executive put it, the job becomes "managing Woody" instead of managing the roster.
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The 2024-2025 Collapse
The last couple of years have been particularly brutal for the Woody Johnson era. 2024 was supposed to be the year. Aaron Rodgers was back from his Achilles tear. The defense was elite. Instead, the season imploded so fast it gave fans whiplash.
- The Saleh Firing: Johnson unilaterally fired Robert Saleh just five games into the season. It was a move that reportedly stunned even then-GM Joe Douglas.
- The Douglas Exit: By November 2024, Douglas was gone too. The man who drafted Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson—arguably the best draft haul in franchise history—was shown the door mid-season.
- The 0-7 Start of 2025: Even after a "total reboot," the team started the 2025 season without a single win in seven games.
During the NFL owners' meetings in October 2025, Johnson was surprisingly blunt. He blamed the winless start on poor quarterback play and defended his new hire, head coach Aaron Glenn. But he also admitted something he rarely says out loud: "I’m obviously not a good owner in terms of winning."
A Culture Crisis: The NFLPA Report Cards
If you want to know how a business is really doing, ask the employees. In the case of the Jets, the "employees" are the players, and they haven't been kind.
The 2025 NFL Players Association (NFLPA) report card was a disaster for Woody. He was the only owner in the NFL to receive an "F" grade. Why? Because players felt that when they gave feedback, management actually made things worse.
Take the food situation. After players complained about the nutrition program in 2024, the team reportedly responded by cutting the food budget and firing a popular dietitian. The locker room carpet is described as "stained and worn out," and the team travel schedules were ranked near the bottom of the league.
When you have a net worth of roughly $11 billion, you’d think the cafeteria would have the best salmon in Jersey. Apparently not.
The Diplomacy Distraction
One thing that makes the relationship between Woody Johnson and the Jets so unique is his "second life" in politics. He’s a massive Republican donor and served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021.
During those years, his brother Christopher Johnson ran the team. Interestingly, many fans and players actually preferred Christopher’s leadership. He was seen as more empathetic and less prone to "Madden-scouting" impulses.
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With the political landscape shifting again in 2025, there has been constant speculation about whether Woody will head back to London. If he takes another diplomatic post, the Jets might once again fall into the hands of a proxy. This creates a weird "limbo" state for the organization. Do you hire a new GM if the owner might be leaving for Europe in six months?
What the Jets Actually Need to Change
Success under Woody Johnson has been a series of "all-in" bets that never quite pay off. He loved the celebrity of Brett Favre. He loved the potential of Aaron Rodgers. But the teams that actually win—the Ravens, the Chiefs, the Steelers—build from the ground up with a consistent philosophy.
The current leadership duo, GM Darren Mougey and Head Coach Aaron Glenn, are tasked with doing something no one has done in 15 years: make the Jets relevant in January.
Mougey's strategy so far has been "aggressive but calculated." He made the gut-wrenching decision to trade away stars like Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams in late 2025 to stock up on draft picks for 2026 and 2027. It was a move that felt like a real "reset," but it’s a hard sell for a fan base that has been resetting since the Mark Sanchez era.
Practical Realities for Fans
If you're following this team, here is what actually matters moving forward:
- Patience with the "Moug": Darren Mougey is trying to fix 25 years of cultural rot. If Woody loses patience and fires him after two seasons, the cycle starts all over.
- The Quarterback Curse: Until they find a young, franchise-altering QB—not a 40-year-old veteran on the back 9—the ceiling is limited.
- Infrastructure Investment: Woody needs to listen to the NFLPA. Improving the weight room and the food isn't just about being "nice"; it's about attracting free agents who currently see the Jets as a "red flag" destination.
Woody Johnson isn't a "bad" person, and he certainly isn't cheap. He’s a man who desperately wants to be the one who finally delivers a trophy to New York. But sometimes, the best thing an owner can do is write the checks, eat the expensive salmon, and stay out of the draft room.
Whether he’s in London or at MetLife, the future of the Jets depends on whether the owner can finally get out of his own way.
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Next Steps for Following the Jets Transition:
Monitor the 2026 NFL Draft capital accumulated by Darren Mougey; the team's ability to turn those high-value picks into a foundational offensive line and a long-term quarterback will be the definitive litmus test for whether Woody Johnson's latest "reset" is actually different from the last five. Keep a close eye on the 2026 NFLPA report cards—if the ownership grade doesn't move from an "F," elite free agents will continue to avoid East Rutherford regardless of how much money is on the table.