Joseph Thomas Browne (born March 6, 1947) is an American former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) executive. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-tenured employee in NFL history, with a career spanning over 50 years. After his retirement, Browne was honored twice by the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

. He received the Ralph Hay Pioneer Award in August 2016. The award is presented by the Hall to a person who has made significant and innovative contributions to professional football. In 2022, Browne also was honored as a member of the charter class for the Hall’s new “Awards of Excellence” program. This award was given in recognition of outstanding contributions to professional football's growth, safety, popularity and its overall success on the field and behind the scenes.

NFL employment

Browne began his NFL work as a 17-year-old college intern in 1965. After serving on active duty in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

, he became a full-time NFL employee in 1970 and was named to several key front office posts by then-commissioner

Pete Rozelle Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was an American professional football executive. Rozelle served as the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) for nearly thirty years, from January 1960 until his retire ...

during the next 20 years. Browne later was appointed the NFL's first-ever vice president by then-commissioner

Paul Tagliabue Paul John Tagliabue (; born November 24, 1940) is an American lawyer who was the National Football League Commissioner, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). He took the position in 1989 NFL season, 1989 and served until September ...

in April 1990. He was promoted to senior vice president in 1995 and executive vice president of communications & government affairs in 2002.

Awards and boards

Browne now heads the New York-based Joe Browne Agency, which serves clients at the intersection of sports, entertainment and politics. He also serves on the international advisory board for

FleishmanHillard FleishmanHillard Inc. (formerly, Fleishman–Hillard) is a public relations and marketing agency founded and based in St. Louis, Missouri. It was acquired by Omnicom Group in 1997, becoming part of the Diversified Agency Services (DAS) division. T ...

, the global communications firm. He serves on the board of directors of the Pat Tillman Foundation and the advisory board for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also was a member of the national board of governors for the

United Way of America United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual United Ways mobilize a sin ...

. Browne was a charter member of the board of directors of

USA Football USA Football is the National Governing Body (NGB) of American football in the United States, having received formal certification from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee on April 17, 2025, becoming the 38th Summer Olympics National Govern ...

, the governing body for amateur football in the United States. In 2016, the organization created the Joe Browne Leadership Award in his honor. Browne himself was the first recipient. Browne also has been a recipient of the Pete Rozelle Award given by the New Orleans Touchdown Club and the Reds Bagnell Award presented by the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia. He was presented with the Flax Trust Award in 2012 for his support of peace in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He also was named a member of the charter class of the Top 50 Irish Personalities in Pro and College Sports by the

Irish Voice The ''Irish Voice'' is a newspaper published in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest nat ...

in 2013.

Personal life

Browne, the son of an Irish immigrant father (John Browne) and an Irish-American mother (Margaret Reills Browne), was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was the first scholarship basketball player at

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a four-year private, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9–12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the D ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, where he is a member of his alma mater’s hall of fame. He is a graduate of

St. Francis College St. Francis College (St. Francis of Brooklyn or SFC) is a private Franciscan college in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn as the St. Francis Academy and was the first private school ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Browne and his wife Karyn live on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. They have two sons.

References

https://www.si.com/mmqb/2016/05/17/nfl-afl-merger-joe-namath-usfl-donald-trump-paul-tagliabue-roger-goodell https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/09/07/Opinion/Joe-Browne.aspx https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/07/13/longtime-nfl-exec-joe-browne-wins-hall-of-fame-award/87031748/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Joe Living people NFL executives People from Queens, New York St. Francis College alumni 1947 births