He clearly enjoys the visibility of the position and it has been a great investment for his family, but it’s incredibly unusual for someone with his wealth to take a back seat in anything.

When Bob Tisch bought Tim Mara’s half of the team after Super Bowl XXV, I’m sure he expected that given the Giants are the Maras only source of wealth, under the estate tax laws back then Wellington’s heirs would be motivated if not forced to sell him the rest of the team when Wellington passed on. At the very least he’d be in a position to ensure that he got the first look at it. He certainly didn’t expect to be dying himself given that he was ten years younger than Wellington.

Given Wellington’s stature within the league and the insistence of the NFL that franchises speak with one voice when it comes to league matters, Bob Tisch knew that as long as Wellington was around he was effectively a “minority” 50/50 partner in the team. That Steve has settled happily into that same status throughout major changes like the establishment of the joint venture with Woody Johnson is a credit to his judgement.

You just have to look at the Doubleday/Wilpon scenario with the Mets to see how badly this could have ultimately turned out for Giant fans.