A Rough Patch for Potential Pioneer

To many people, Reggie Fowler is more than the potential future owner of the Minnesota Vikings. They consider him a role model, a soft-spoken pioneer who could be mere weeks away from becoming the first African American to buy an NFL franchise.

The Arizona entrepreneur was introduced at the team’s headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minn., this week after reaching an agreement to buy the Vikings from Red McCombs for a reported $625 million to $635 million, pending approval from the league.

At the news conference, Fowler, 46, said that striking the deal was “probably the greatest moment of my life.”

But since then, the road has been rocky. On Friday, four days after he was introduced, Fowler gathered with reporters again -- this time to reaffirm his financial status and repair damage to his public image.

His credibility has been in question because claims in his public biography were found to be untrue.

Of his financial status, Fowler said Friday, “We would not be sitting here today if we had not shown our financials to the proper parties and had not put ourselves in the proper position to acquire this team.”

As for the discrepancies in his biography, he said, “When you don’t pay attention to what you put out, you’re subject to errors. I’m a perfect example of that.”

The two-page bio that was distributed at his introductory news conference claimed Fowler played in the NFL and Canadian Football League and, as an 11-year-old baseball player, in the Little League World Series. It also implied he earned a business administration and finance degree from Wyoming.

Fowler was actually cut in training camp by the Bengals and also by the Edmonton Eskimos -- not the Stampeders. Clarifying the Little League confusion, Fowler said he played with an all-star team at a tournament in California that was called the World Series.

Although he stopped short of saying he had embellished or been inaccurate in describing his background, Fowler acknowledged that years ago he had intentionally doctored his resume to show he graduated from Wyoming with a degree in business administration and an emphasis in finance. His degree is actually in social work.

Fowler said that because he owns his own business, he had not updated his resume in more than 20 years. He said the errors were oversights and were not meant to deceive.

Whatever they are, Fowler’s athletic and academic accomplishments are of little consequence to NFL owners, who will decide next month whether to approve his agreement with McCombs.

NFL rules require Fowler, as managing partner, to control at least 30% of the franchise, and the league’s finance committee will examine his ability to complete the deal. The sale requires approval from at least 24 of the league’s 32 owners, but only after a recommendation from the finance committee.

Asked at the news conference how confident the NFL was in his ability to come up with the money, Fowler said: “We would not be here today if we did not have the ability to make the transaction.”

Fowler is the point man of an investment group that includes Minneapolis auto dealer Dennis Heckert and, reportedly, New York-area real estate tycoons Alan Landis and Zyggi Wilf. The most that an ownership group might borrow against the franchise is $125 million.

The offer made by the Fowler group surpassed that made by Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor to buy the Vikings.

Sources familiar with the workings of the finance committee indicated that group will closely examine the agreement between Fowler and his minority investors to make sure Fowler is, in fact, in control of the franchise. One of the sources said the problems with Fowler’s bio could “raise eyebrows” with the committee.

Although Fowler called the prospect of making history as the first black NFL owner “a great thing,” he indicated that’s far from his driving ambition.

“I’m happy that I’m black,” he said. “As James Brown says, ‘Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud.’ That doesn’t really play a big part with me. I just happen to be black.”

Fowler, who has estimated his net worth at $400 million, is chief executive of Spiral Inc., which, according to his biography, he founded “with a $1,000 investment in the late 1980s.” He became a millionaire by selling to supermarkets plastic bags and the foam trays that hold meat. According to its website, Spiral now owns a flight-simulator company, a construction management company, a cattle ranch and a children’s indoor playground.

Spiral Inc., which is privately held, reported $314 million in sales in 2003 and has 75 employees, according to Black Enterprise magazine. The company was 11th in the magazine’s ranking of top black-owned industrial and service businesses.

Fowler has “been on our radar screen for a while,” said Alan Hughes, features editor at Black Enterprise.

Because Spiral Inc. isn’t a public company, it’s difficult to determine Fowler’s precise net worth. He has maintained such a low profile in his hometown that when a newspaper called recently, the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce could not identify his business.

“It’s not impossible, but it’s very unusual,” L.A.-based financial expert Philip Holthouse said of someone quietly accumulating that much wealth. “There is some stealth wealth out there.”

It’s no surprise to some of his Wyoming teammates that Fowler has succeeded without much fanfare. Even as a teenager, they said, he was introspective, determined and serious beyond his years.

“He was a forward thinker, probably a lot more mature than most of us,” teammate Mike Davis said. “He didn’t hang out with a lot of people, and he’s been out of touch with us. I think that’s because the guy’s a workaholic.”

Another former Wyoming player, Ric Bussey, remembers Fowler as a guy who was “very nice, very cordial but took care of business.”

Hughes, the magazine editor, said Fowler will break significant ground if he is approved as an NFL owner and indicated the stakes are high.

“The natural progression of things is to eventually have a black owner so we’re represented across the board,” he said. “It’s an inevitability, but it’s something that’s long overdue. I would like to think Mr. Fowler had all his ducks in a row before he decided to proceed with this. It would be tragic if it didn’t go through for financial reasons.”