Mara joined the Giants in 1991, serving as general counsel, and later as executive vice president and chief operating officer, until his father's death in 2005, when he assumed the team's presidency.[2]
Mara andSteve Tisch were at the forefront of the planning and negotiations forMetLife Stadium, which opened in 2010.
Despite winning twoSuper Bowls during his tenure as owner, Mara was criticized in the late 2010s and early 2020s for being too loyal to longtime Giants employees.[6]
In September 2021, he was booed by fans while speaking atEli Manning's number retirement and Ring of Honor ceremony,[7] and did not address the crowd that November when the team retiredMichael Strahan's number.[8]
Mara was also criticized for keepingDave Gettleman throughout his four-year tenure, instead allowing Gettleman to retire at the end of the2021 season.[9][10]
During the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the team's poor performance saw airplanes fly overMetLife Stadium during games with messages including "fix this dumpster fire"[11] and "fire everyone".[12]
Mara has served for 15 years on theNFL Competition Committee, which suggests rule and policy changes to all NFL teams. He is the current chairman of the NFL Management Council Executive Committee.[2][13] He played an important role in the negotiations for the 2011 and 2020collective bargaining agreements.
Mara is the third generation of his family to own the Giants. His grandfather,Tim, founded the team in 1925. Tim's sons, Wellington andJack (John's uncle), inherited the team in 1959, when Tim died. Among NFL franchises, only theChicago Bears (controlled by the Halas-McCaskey family since 1921) have been in the hands of one family longer than the Giants.[14]
He and his wife, Denise W. Mara, married in 1980[15] and have one son, John Jr., and four daughters, Lauren, Courtney, Christine, and Erin.[16][17][18][19] He is an uncle to actressesRooney Mara andKate Mara.[20]
Mara serves on the board of directors of Saint Vincent's Hospital in Harrison, New York, andBoys Hope Girls Hope of New York.[2]
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