By Jordan Mamorsky

Every NFL fan dreams about owning an NFL franchise but it’s not as glamorous as it seems. Ask John Mara, part owner of the New York Giants, and he will tell you that owning a football team is a difficult job especially in today’s world of free agency and the salary cap.

Mara along with his dad, Wellington Mara and fellow owner Bob Tisch have led the Giants to seven plus wins in six years. “It’s very difficult to consistently maintain a winner,” said Mara. Working within a budget forces franchises to make decisions that are not always easy. “You can’t spend it [money] based on emotional reasons,” he said. “You have to spend it wisely and you can’t over spend in one position and not in another. You have to pick your spots and that’s what we try to do.”

In addition to the salary cap, free agency has drastically changed the NFL both on the field and on the managerial level. “[Today] you can’t keep players for their entire careers,” said Mara. “You have to pick those guys that you’re willing to spend your money on. Other guys - 10-12 years ago you would have most likely kept - they want to go somewhere else now where they can be starters.”

Of course the burning question is - what about the Giants’ chances for the Super Bowl? “We have pretty high expectations for this year,” Mara said. “We’ve picked a good team, now we just have to hope for the best.”