General manager (American football)

A general manager (GM) in American football is a sports management executive that typically oversees rosters and contracts for a team. GMs answer directly to the team's owner in such an organizational model and are viewed as the team's most senior position in football operations. Notable National Football League (NFL) general managers include Tex Schramm, Bill Polian, Ron Wolf, Bobby Beathard, Gil Brandt, and George Young.

Professional football

The general manager (GM) is typically the head of football operations, which includes leading the scouting department and being responsible for handling free agent transactions and contract negotiations with players and coaches. The scouting department's role is to evaluate college football players entering the annual NFL draft.^[1] During the NFL Combine, general managers will interview players.^[2] 

Many GMs begin their front office career as an assistant scout and are promoted into roles such as director of college scouting or vice president of player personnel before being GM. The GM is also responsible for negotiating contracts with players and coaches.^[3] As with head coaches and some players, GMs are required by the NFL to attend press conferences with the media. During the season, general managers will work 100 hours or more a week.^[3] Pro Football Hall of Fame general managers include Tex Schramm, Bill Polian, Ron Wolf, Bobby Beathard, Gil Brandt, and George Young.

List of current NFL general managers

Team	General manager	Since	Ref.
Arizona Cardinals	Monti Ossenfort	2023	[4]
Atlanta Falcons	Terry Fontenot	2021	[5]
Baltimore Ravens	Eric DeCosta	2019	[6]
Buffalo Bills	Brandon Beane	2017	[7]
Carolina Panthers	Dan Morgan	2024	[8]
Chicago Bears	Ryan Poles	2022	[9]
Cincinnati Bengals	Duke Tobin[a]	1999	[10]
Cleveland Browns	Andrew Berry	2020	[11]
Dallas Cowboys	Jerry Jones[b]	1989	[12]
Denver Broncos	George Paton	2021	[13]
Detroit Lions	Brad Holmes	2021	[14]
Green Bay Packers	Brian Gutekunst	2018	[15]
Houston Texans	Nick Caserio	2021	[16]
Indianapolis Colts	Chris Ballard	2017	[17]
Jacksonville Jaguars	James Gladstone	2025	[18]
Kansas City Chiefs	Brett Veach	2017	[19]
Las Vegas Raiders	John Spytek	2025	[20]
Los Angeles Chargers	Joe Hortiz	2024	[21]
Los Angeles Rams	Les Snead	2012	[22]
Miami Dolphins	Chris Grier	2016	[23]
Minnesota Vikings	Kwesi Adofo-Mensah	2022	[24]
New England Patriots	Eliot Wolf[c]	2024	[25]
New Orleans Saints	Mickey Loomis	2002	[26]
New York Giants	Joe Schoen	2022	[27]
New York Jets	Darren Mougey	2025	[28]
Philadelphia Eagles	Howie Roseman	2010	[29]
Pittsburgh Steelers	Omar Khan	2022	[30]
San Francisco 49ers	John Lynch	2017	[31]
Seattle Seahawks	John Schneider	2010	[32]
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Jason Licht	2014	[33]
Tennessee Titans	Mike Borgonzi	2025	[34]
Washington Commanders	Adam Peters	2024	[35]

College football

In the 2020s, the introduction of name, image, and likeness (NIL) and professionalization of college athletics led schools to hire NFL-style general managers to oversee personnel and scouting departments separate from the role of athletic directors. They were introduced with recruiting and staff management as the focus, but evolved as transfer portal rules relaxed and became larger aspect of college roster building.^[36][37] Notable early hires include former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, NFL executive Michael Lombardi, and NFL head coach Ron Rivera.^[38]