Jim Irsay Was an NFL Team Owner With the Heart of a Poet Who Had One Heck of a Music Collection

When it comes to NFL team owners, there is a lot that can be said about the late Jim Irsay. Some take a background approach by trusting in the people they hired to make the team work. Others are practically on the sidelines. Jim was larger than life and, for better or worse, brought an intense level of passion to being the steward of the Indianapolis Colts.

Some of the most successful people understand that while it's important to love what you do, you shouldn't make what you do the only thing you love. This was the case for Jim, who once described himself as a "philosopher, a songwriter, and a poet," per The Athletic. Jim was very committed to advancing the arts in his personal life. In fact, he had the kind of music collection that belongs in a museum.

Jim's music collection is so well-known, it has its own website. Over the course of several decades, he built up a collection that includes musical instruments and items owned and used by Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Prince, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, Jerry Garcia, Jim Morrison, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain, to name more than a few.

In 2023, Jim took about 100 pieces of his massive collection on the road as part of a traveling exhibit, aptly titled The Jim Irsay Collection. These were not just memorabilia but rather items specifically tied to moments in history. "I've pondered questions such as, 'What real currency does a memory have?'" he told ESPN. "'How did the memory serve us? Did it help form who you are?' There are historic moments that shifted the whole world. History is just an incredible teacher for us."

Despite the fact that this was an expensive endeavor, it was free to view the collection. "It's been a way to be of service and give back to the arts, to the public in general," he said. Jim also shared that he didn't feel as if anything in his collection really belonged to him. "It was there before I came, and it will be there when I leave," showing a hint of the philosopher he claimed to be. What will happen to it now that he has died? Jim planned on passing it down to his grandchildren.