5 potential owners who would make the NFL better

Rumors recently swirled that UFC majority owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta plan to sell their mixed martial arts promotion so they can buy an NFL team, ostensibly to be located in Las Vegas.

While president Dana White denied the UFC is for sale, he did concede that the Fertitta brothers are hardcore NFL fans and do wish to own a franchise one day.

Assuming the NFL could become comfortable with the Fertittas' ties to gambling, there's little doubt they'd make great NFL owners. They're well versed in the nuances of sports, business, and, perhaps most importantly, spectacle.

The Fertittas aren't the only ones who are great candidates to become NFL owners, however. Here are five others we think could be a perfect fit:

Mark Cuban

The passionate and often outspoken Cuban has helped raise the profile of the NBA and himself through his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, and involvement in projects like ABC's "Shark Tank."

Cuban is as committed to winning as any owner in sports, and is beloved by his players, with whom he's able to relate in a way many stuffy billionaires can't.

Though Cuban has criticized the NFL in the past, calling the league "greedy" and suggesting football is a decade away from imploding because of concerns about player safety, his outsider perspective might actually be a good thing. The NFL's ownership group is very much an old boys' club, and Cuban could bring innovative ideas to help the league secure its future and strive toward new heights.

Jeff Bezos

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been a success as an NFL owner since buying the Seattle Seahawks in 1996, so why wouldn't the league dip back into the world of tech to find another potential owner?

As a generation of fans moves away from broadcast television and toward online streaming, the NFL needs to add individuals with intimate knowledge of all things digital. Amazon founder Bezos' company has tried to land the rights to stream NFL games before. Literally buying a piece of the NFL would give Bezos a huge leg up in the race to procure the long-term streaming rights to NFL content. It could be a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Bezos would bring more than access to digital broadcast channels, too. Amazon has revolutionized retail, and Bezos is now trying to do the same in the publishing world. The NFL should try to add forward thinkers like him.

Tiger Woods

The ultra-competitive Woods might never play professional golf again, at least not at a high level. Could he scratch his itch to compete by buying in to North America's biggest sports league? He's known to be a big fan of the Oakland Raiders.

Even with Woods' immense net worth, estimated to be in the range of $700 million, he'd have to find a wealthy business partner in order to afford an NFL team. But he has plenty of connections in the sports business world, and is seen by many as a savvy businessman. It probably wouldn't be hard for him to assemble a team of investors.

There's never been an African-American majority owner of an NFL franchise. Woods broke down barriers on the golf course, and it would be cool to see him do it again in the boardroom.

Phil Knight

Nike co-founder Knight used his wealth and influence to help make Oregon one of the top college football programs in the nation. It would be fascinating to see what he could do as an NFL owner - beyond the garish uniforms he would surely have designed for his team.

Nike is, of course, the NFL's official provider of uniforms and a leader in sports science. In closer partnership with Knight, the NFL could continue to push the boundaries of athletics and technology.

Knight stepped down as Nike's chairman last summer, so his calendar might have room for him to fulfill the obligations of an NFL owner.

Sir Richard Branson

The NFL will eventually try putting a team in London. Who better to own that team than a flashy English billionaire like Branson?

Does Branson have the passion necessary to help American football succeed overseas? It's hard to say for sure, but we know he's a fan of the sport. More importantly, he seems to have never met a camera he didn't love - and the NFL's first owner outside the U.S. will be in the spotlight plenty.