Indianapolis Colts’ Owner Jim Irsay And His San Francisco Rock N’ Roll Show

Jim Irsay knows how to make rock and roll fans happy. Over the years, the billionaire owner of the Indianapolis Colts football team has assembled an unusual collection of pop culture and historical memorabilia–a guitar formerly owned by the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, an Elton John piano, Paul McCartney’s handwritten “Hey Jude” lyrics and more—and has taken it on the road to various cities, offering free tickets to the public for a one night viewing. An added bonus for the evening: a concert with an eclectic mix of standout rock musicians.

On Saturday night in San Francisco, performing at the cavernous Bill Graham Civic Auditorium near city hall, the musicians included blues guitarist Buddy Guy, rock guitarist and singer John Fogerty of Credence Clearwater Revival, singer Ann Wilson of the band Heart, R.E.M. bass player Mike Mills, Stephen Stills of Crosby, Stills & Nash, and more. It was a rollicking evening.

Irsay, 63, inherited the Indianapolis Colts NFL team from his father, Robert (d. 1997), a heating and air conditioning tycoon who bought the Los Angeles Rams for $19 million in 1972 and immediately traded it for the then Baltimore-based Colts. (Robert Irsay moved the Colts to Indianapolis in 1984.) The team—like nearly all other NFL teams–has rocketed up in value in the decades since. Forbes estimates Irsay is worth $3.9 billion and the Colts are worth $3.8 billion. Asked at a press conference before the performance Saturday (which started an hour later than scheduled–on rock and roll time) why he didn’t charge admission for the event, Irsay replied, “I humbly say I don’t need the money. Why would I collect money from people that do need the money?”

This is a man who’s living in the moment, doing what he loves. “You never see a hearse pulling a U-haul, you know,” he added. Reflecting on his wealth, he opined: “With a billion dollars, you could spend a thousand dollars a day since Jesus Christ was born– a day– and you couldn’t spend a billion dollars. So when you’re blessed with so much, I think God expects you in return to give so much.”

Irsay has faced some real challenges over time. He told Forbes in 2012 that he’d defeated his demons–an addiction to painkillers, which he called a fatal disease. Around that time, he made his three daughters vice-chairs and co-owners of the Colts. Two years later, Irsay was arrested for driving while intoxicated and possessing a controlled substance. The controlled substance charges were later dropped, but Irsay pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of impaired driving and got a 60-day suspended sentence, according to ESPN. The NFL suspended Irsay for six games and fined him $500,000 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Between songs on stage in San Francisco Saturday, Irsay referred to himself as a former junkie and talked about making a donation that night to a group called Kick the Stigma, dedicated to removing the stigma of mental health and addiction issues.

What’s his ultimate purpose? “It’s all, in the end, in this room, about a feeling, about a higher power, a bigger love. And that’s what brings us together and keeps us together and keeps us sane,” Irsay explained in somewhat rambling fashion at the press conference, while standing in front of the musicians. “These artists behind me bring it to the stage to try and uplift everyone in the room, just like our players bring it to the field, because in those moments, it’s so very special. And we try to gather all this memorabilia together to honor the history that’s gone on for those before us.”

The Jim Irsay Collection, though heavy on rock and roll items, with a drum kit from the Beatles and even a pair of John Lennon’s sunglasses, also includes the original 120-foot-long typewritten scroll of Jack Kerouac’s beat generation novel On The Road, legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson’s bat, and the top hat worn by President Harry Truman during his inauguration. The unifying theme for the collection is quite broad. By far the most popular item for the San Francisco crowd was Tiger, a guitar that Jerry Garcia played from 1979 to 1989 (for which Irsay paid $957,000). Nearly everyone seemed to be snapping photos of it with their phones. Later in the evening, Tiger got pulled from its display case so guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd could play the hallowed instrument for the Dead song West L.A. Fade Away.

The musical performance was a spirited trip through time, showcasing rock hits from the ages and from the assembled musicians–for an enthusiastic crowd. The band played Fleetwood Mac’s Chains, in tribute to Christine McVie, who died late last month. (Irsay owns a bass guitar played by Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie–Christine’s ex-husband, which was used for the Chains number.) Mike Mills led performances of R.E.M. songs Rockville and Superman; Ann Wilson rocked Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song. Buddy Guy played as if he were decades younger than 86 years old.

Irsay came onstage for selected songs throughout the performance, sporting a big black cowboy hat and dark glasses and singing from a seat at the front of the stage. To tie things back to football, between songs, two Colts players came out on stage and spiraled footballs deep into the crowd. Irsay wrapped up the night by belting out The Rolling Stones’ number Gimme Shelter. It wasn’t Mick Jagger, but it was full of passion.

At the end of the show, I overheard one fan say what many in the room were likely thinking: “That guy’s doing the right thing with his money.”