--- description: Find out why Carlie Irsay-Gordon was selected for TIME‘s 2026 list of the most influential people in sports. title: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026: Carlie Irsay-Gordon image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt480a509e22355e12/6a209fa32edd5573bf2a083c/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Carlie-Irsay-Gordon.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00 --- Jun 09, 2026 # Carlie Irsay-Gordon by Tashan Reed  Michelle Pemberton—IndyStar/USA TODAY/Imagn Images/Reuters Though she’s not the only woman to own an NFL team, Carlie Irsay-Gordon has rapidly become the most prominent. She took over as the Indianapolis Colts’ principal owner following the death of her father, Jim Irsay, in May 2025, but that was far from the beginning of her involvement with the franchise. She has spent more than two decades learning the nuances of the business, from marketing strategies to how the coaching staff formulates game plans. She has represented the team at owners’ meetings since 2004, and she’s created fellowships supporting coaching diversity and women in football. Inside the building, she has built a reputation for her curiosity, diligence, and candor. She is so committed to the success of her team that she frequently wears a headset on the sideline during games so she can hear how the coaching staff communicates. “I would suggest it for anyone else that has to pay coaches and GMs millions and millions of dollars,” [she said last year.](https://www.colts.com/news/carlie-irsay-gordon-gameday-headset-playcall-sheet-owner-and-ceo-ownership "undefined") “It helps you make a less expensive mistake potentially.” **Correction, June 9** _The original version of this article mistakenly included a description of the Colts' "Kicking the Stigma" program, which is run by Irsay-Gordon's sister, Kalen Jackson, not by Irsay-Gordon._ Carlie Irsay-Gordon: TIME100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carlie-irsay-gordon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carlie-irsay-gordon/"},"headline":"Carlie Irsay-Gordon","datePublished":"2026-06-09T12:01:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-09T19:56:06.932Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carlie-irsay-gordon/","keywords":["list","franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt480a509e22355e12/6a209fa32edd5573bf2a083c/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Carlie-Irsay-Gordon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tashan Reed"}],"creator":"Tashan Reed","articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt480a509e22355e12/6a209fa32edd5573bf2a083c/T100SPORTS-2026-Web-Carlie-Irsay-Gordon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675%2Coffset-x100.00%2Coffset-y0.00&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-sports/2026/carlie-irsay-gordon/","name":"Carlie Irsay-Gordon"}}]}] ```