Jim Irsay died on Wednesday at the age of 65, and many stories about his philanthropy have emerged since his death.
Irsay was the longtime owner of the Indianapolis Colts. He was known for his philanthropy, which included large donations to projects such as hospitals, the Indianapolis Zoo, a local YMCA, and a research institute at Indiana University. While his and the Colts’ contributions to many high-profile projects were known, Irsay did many more things quietly.
Erik Burkhardt, a football agent for Roc Nation Sports, shared a story about Irsay via X on Thursday.
“A brief Jim Irsay story that I believe is important to share: Years ago I had a Colts client (player) who unexpectedly lost a beloved family member. Mr. Irsay personally called me with the sincerest condolences for the entire family. Further, he offered to pay for the funeral, which we graciously dismissed. Days later Jim’s right-hand-man called me and INSISTED that Mr. Irsay pay for the funeral. His ‘one condition’ was that it wasn’t made public that he did this. Upon following through & assisting them in executing his amazing gesture, his guy told me in confidence: ‘Jim Irsay does sooooo many incredible things like this on his own and without credit. Last yr (sic) alone he paid for HUNDREDS of funerals…,” Burkhardt wrote.
Larry Brown Sports also received an email from someone sharing a similar story. Irsay had quietly sent blue flowers to a funeral for a man who was murdered in 2000. The deceased man had a relative who worked in payroll for the Colts, according to what we were told.
Another person shared a similar story via X and provided photo proof of the Colts and Irsay sending flowers to a funeral.
— Mike Johnston (@iam4iu42) May 22, 2025
And here is another story about Irsay that went viral:
Three things I’ll remember about Jim Irsay from stories that were told to me about him over the years:
— Stephen Andress (@StephenAndress1) May 21, 2025
– He made it a point to give every Colts employee a birthday card with a $100 bill.
– He would randomly give the homeless a wad of cash from time to time in hopes of helping… pic.twitter.com/tiaVbuUM9i
The great philanthropy is a big part of Irsay’s legacy. And apparently a lot of his philanthrophy was done more privately than publicly.
