Texans owner Bob McNair dies at 81

HOUSTON — Robert “Bob” McNair, billionaire founder and owner of the Houston Texans, has died. He was 81.

One of the NFL’s most influential owners, McNair had battled both leukemia and squamous cell carcinoma in recent years before dying in Houston on Friday. The team did not immediately release a cause of death, but said he died peacefully with his wife Janice and his family by his side.

When Houston lost the Oilers to Tennessee after the 1996 season, McNair made it his mission to return the NFL to the city. He formed Houston NFL Holdings in 1998, and on Oct. 6, 1999 he was awarded the 32nd NFL franchise. The Texans began play in 2002.

A powerful force in the NFL, McNair served as chairman of the league’s finance committee and as a member of the audit committee.

In August 2014 he spoke candidly about his battle with cancer, and outlined the many procedures and treatments he endured to recover. It was then he revealed he’d dealt with skin cancer for about 20 years.

He also noted then that he would remain in charge of the team, but would work on delegating responsibilities to other members of his staff.

After several difficult building years as an expansion team, the Texans won their first AFC South title and first playoff berth in 2011. They also won the division title a year later when they went a franchise-best 12-4. Both years they lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

McNair came under fire in 2017 when he said “we can’t have the inmates running the prison” during a meeting of the NFL owners about players who protest social and racial injustice by kneeling during the national anthem. McNair issued two apologies after the remarks became public, calling it a “very regretful comment.”

In response, almost all of the Texans kneeled during the anthem before their game against the Seahawks on Oct. 29, 2017, after no one on the team had kneeled before.

Along with his wife, McNair is survived by four children, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.