Shahid Khan, sometimes known as “Shad” Khan, came to the United States at the age of 16 with nothing. He started out washing dishes to continue his education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Now, he presides over one of the 15 largest automotive suppliers in North America. He also owns the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Pakistan-born billionaire’s unbelievable journey continues to inspire many, while it has prompted outlets like Forbes magazine and Chicago Ideas to refer to Khan as the “new face of the American Dream.”
The First Non-White Owner of an NFL Team
His intellect and hard work has earned Khan a degree in Industrial Engineering from one of the top departments in the country. While still attending UIUC, he started working for a local automotive manufacturing company called Flex-N-Gate. After graduating in 1971, he became the engineering director there, at a juncture that would usher in growing challenges for the American automotive industry. By 1980, Khan, having already established his own initiative, purchased Flex-N-Gate from his own former employer.
Even though the 1980s implied steady decline for manufacturing in the Rust Belt area, Khan and his team prevented Flex-N-Gate becoming an obsolete local auto parts manufacturer. Instead, they went the opposite direction and grew, becoming the sole supplier of bumpers for Toyota.
Since then, Khan has led Flex-N-Gate to becoming one of the 50 largest private companies in the US, and an estimated $8.3 billion in sales in 2018. Khan himself came to amass a net worth well over $6 billion.
With his love of football growing since his early days in Illinois, Khan set his eyes on owning an NFL team in the 2000s. In 2012, he finalized an agreement to acquire the Jacksonville Jaguars. This move made him the first NFL owner of color.
Shahid Khan Faces a Harsh Winter
When Khan came to Illinois on a cold day in 1967, he stayed at the YMCA for $2 a night. The next day, he got his first American job, washing dishes for $1.20 an hour. Illinois welcomed him with one of the most severe blizzards ever seen to this day.
As an immigrant, the rather unfamiliar environment he suddenly found himself in brought about new experiences for Khan. He quickly signed up for a fraternity, eager to meet new people and socialize. The Beta Theta Pi house, all traditionally white Anglo Saxon Protestant, “invited him either out of curiosity, for fun or to see who he was, and they loved him,” says Khan’s close friend David Sholem.
There, he learned about “convertibles and the stock market,” and new sports like football and basketball. Khan knew of neither back in Pakistan, where rugby and cricket take center stage. He started going to football and basketball games with his new peers.
Around this time, he developed a greater interest in sports. He also soon started working at Flex-N-Gate, not realizing that he would transform it from a small manufacturing company to a continental giant.
Shahid Khan Plans to Turn the Jaguars Around
Khan’s business started really taking off when Flex-N-Gate started working with Toyota in 1984. American companies came around as well, as they got impressed with the quality of the parts that they produced. The company now supplies many automakers, including BMW, Ford, and Nissan with metal and plastic equipment components and mechanical assemblies.
He expects a similar turnaround for his NFL club. After buying the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2012, Khan started thinking about how to broaden the club’s fanbase. Khan recalls how they had “a very limited fanbase” when he got the Jaguars, citing “limited demand” for football in Jacksonville. That is why they have been playing some games in London since he took over.
“The logical thing was to grow overseas,” Khan explains. The Jaguars have achieved a dramatic growth in fan recognition outside the US, thanks to their presence in London and games played at the legendary Wembley Stadium.
The Jags just traded veteran QB and former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a draft pick, and now have 12 picks for the 2020 NFL Draft, tentatively scheduled for April 23-25.
