Add The New York Post on Google Fifty years after Connie Carberg was hired by the Jets and became the first woman to be an NFL scout, women — from owners and executives to media and officiating — have continued to shape the league and its surrounding orbits. The Post breaks down the 10 most influential women in football ahead of the 2026 season, listed alphabetically:
The Giants hired Aponte away from the NFL in February to become their senior vice president of football operations and strategy, specializing in the salary cap and contract negotiations, among other items. She started her career with the Jets and also worked for the Browns and Dolphins, and before joining Big Blue, she served as the league’s chief administrator of football operations. She interviewed with the Chargers in 2024 for their GM vacancy.
Blackburn — a collegiate hockey goaltender at Dartmouth, the daughter of Bengals owner Mike Brown, the granddaughter of the original owner of the team and a former lawyer at a Cincinnati firm — joined the Bengals front office in 1991 and, in 2021, became the first woman on the NFL’s competition committee. She runs day-to-day operations of the team and was also the first woman to hold the position of chief contract negotiator.
The 2026 campaign will mark Davidson’s seventh with the Buccaneers — and fourth in her current position — while working on roster and strategy decisions, along with player contracts and the salary cap. Davidson also worked for the Jets from 2007-18 as their manager, and then director of football administration, operating as their primary negotiator for contracts.
Could Hickman become the first female general manager in the NFL since the Eagles’ Susan Tose Spencer in 1983? She interviewed for the Titans vacancy after the 2024 season and joined the Browns in 2022 as their assistant general manager — making her the highest-ranking woman in an NFL front office — after previously serving as Eagles vice president of football operations. She also worked in the XFL and CFL. The Quebec native practiced law before taking a job with the Montreal Alouettes to shift her focus.
Irsay-Gordon, the daughter of late Colts owner Jim Irsay, took over as owner and CEO of the team in 2025 and has become known for being on the sideline during games, donning a headset, holding a play sheet and immersing herself in the operational side of games. She joined the team full time in 2008 and is also a member of three league committees: Media Owned & Operated, 32 Equity and Security & Fan Conduct.
Juszczyk’s name — and her Off Season brand — has gone viral throughout NFL games because of the custom puffer jackets and other clothing items she sewed. From Taylor Swift and Brittany Mahomes to Simone Biles and Ann Michael Maye, Juszczyk, the wife of 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk and a Massapequa native who met Kyle while they both attended Towson, has outfitted celebrities as they support their partners, and in 2024, she landed a licensing deal with the NFL.
Kimes has carved out a role at a major network in an analyst space historically filled by former players, appearing on “NFL Live” and other programs at ESPN. She broke into journalism as an investigative and business reporter for Bloomberg and Fortune, respectively, before a Medium post led to a job at ESPN. She has also served as a color commentator for Rams preseason games.
Lynn joined Klutch Sports in 2021 and became the first black woman to represent a quarterback in a Super Bowl (the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts in 2023) and a top three draft pick (ex-Jet Quinnen Williams in 2019). An Oklahoma graduate whose first job was on Wall Street and whose first job as an agent came with PlayersRep in 2015, Lynn also represents Myles Garrett, Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall, Will Anderson Jr. and others.
Taylor, entering her sixth season as host of the “Football Night in America” studio show for NBC’s Sunday night games, became the first black woman to host the Super Bowl pregame show and present the Lombardi Trophy afterward. She has also covered four Olympics for the network, and when NBC added the NBA to its coverage, the Georgia graduate who previously worked for ESPN stepped in as host.
Thomas has continued to make history since becoming the first woman to be a full-time, on-field official for the NFL in 2015. She served as the down judge for the 2021 Super Bowl, too, and was the first woman to officiate the league’s ultimate game. Before reaching the NFL, Thomas refereed games for Conference USA starting in 2007.
Honorable mention: Gayle Benson (Saints owner), Amy Adams Strunk (Titans owner who helped them land Super Bowl 2030), Sam Rapoport (created the NFL Women’s Forum), Erin Andrews (Fox sideline reporter for its No. 1 broadcast team and prominent podcaster) and Nicole Blake (Rams director of scouting, strategy and analytics).
