Janice McNair, the co-founder and Senior Chair of the Houston Texans, has died at 89.
The team announced her death on Tuesday afternoon.
McNair and her husband, Bob, founded the NFL’s 32nd franchise in 2002, helping bring the league back to Houston after the Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997. After Bob McNair died in 2018 at age 81, Janice became the team’s primary owner. She later passed that role to her son, Cal, in 2024.
In a statement released by the team, Cal McNair paid tribute to his mother and the life she built around family, faith, philanthropy and football.
“Mom was exceptional,” Cal said in a statement issued by the team.” She exuded kindness, radiated joy, had an endless amount of hope and love, and lived an incredible life centered around faith, family, philanthropy and football.
It’s impossible to describe the profound gratitude that my sisters, Ruth and Melissa, and I feel for having her as our mom. Outside of our family, nothing mattered more to her than her beloved Texans.
I remain honored to lead this franchise and build on the foundation my parents set when they brought football back to Houston. Mom leaves an indelible mark on our family, our team and our community, and her giving spirit will always be embedded in the fabric of our organization.
While I’m heartbroken, I take great comfort in knowing she is now reunited with my dad, her favorite teammate.”
McNair is survived by four children, sixteen grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
In Other News...
Astros Bat Suddenly Lands In Another Wave Of Trade Buzz
The Astros are back in the middle of trade chatter again, this time because their roster keeps surfacing in conversations around what Boston might do before the deadline. The Red Sox are trying to keep momentum going as they head into a doubleheader with Tampa Bay, and with the club back in the playoff mix, the front office is weighing upgrades across the board. Houston has become part of that discussion after already making a notable move this summer, which only adds to the sense that teams are watching the Astros closely.
For Boston, the appeal is familiar: a player with the kind of profile that fits a contender looking for offense and flexibility, and one who was already tied to the Red Sox more than anyone else during the offseason. Even with the deadline still ahead, the chatter around Houston suggests the Astros could be a source of help for a rival trying to sharpen its roster for the stretch run, and the connection is strong enough to keep the speculation alive. [Read more 🡒]
Astros Need To Show Their Deadline Intentions With This Move
With the trade deadline approaching and the American League still looking wide open, Houston finds itself in a familiar but uneasy spot: close enough to matter, not quite far enough along to feel safe. The Astros are 47-51, which leaves the front office weighing whether to add help for a playoff push, stay put and trust the current group, or use the moment to turn pieces into future value.
What makes the next move so important is that the roster seems to need a specific kind of upgrade, and the deadline is the cleanest place to find it. Houston has to show whether it believes this season is still worth pressing into, because sitting on the fence would say as much about the organizations view of the club as any trade it makes. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremy Pea Is Now In Trade Talk Astros Fans Hate Seeing
Jeremy Pea has landed in the kind of trade chatter that usually says more about a players value than his availability, and for Astros fans, it is the sort of noise that lands badly. Peas all-around game has made him one of the more attractive names on the market in theory, but the Astros also know what life looks like without him, and it has not been pretty.
His importance goes beyond the highlight plays and the steady defense. When Pea was on the injury list earlier this season, Houston went 13-20, a reminder of how thin the margin can be when a lineup loses its shortstop. Any team asking about him would have to pay up, and with the Astros still thinking about October, that is exactly why this feels more like trade talk than a real possibility. [Read more 🡒]