Zygi Wilf enters his 20th season as Owner/Chairman of the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 and has been instrumental in transforming the organization since the Wilf family purchased the club in 2005. During that time, Wilf and his brother Mark, have focused on creating a world-class organization that consistently competes for championships, provides the best fan experience in the NFL, has a positive impact on the community and grows the game of football.
Since taking ownership of the club, the Wilfs have invested heavily in building a culture that gives players and staff the best environment to succeed and emphasizes each individual's value. During each of the past two offseasons (2023-24), ownership's efforts received a resounding stamp of approval when the NFL Players Association released the results of its "free agency report cards" for all 32 teams. The Vikings finished ranked No. 1 in 2023 and No. 2 in 2024. The player survey focused on topics ranging from the quality of team facilities and programming to the treatment of players families. The report said, "The Minnesota Vikings are a shining example of what is possible when a concerted investment is made in both staffing and facilities.
Two of the biggest organizational achievements – opening U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016 and hosting Super Bowl LII in 2018 – have come under the Wilfs' leadership. As the largest construction project in state history, the new stadium employed nearly 8,000 construction workers and has had a significant economic impact on the region. Wilf served as Honorary Co-Chair of the Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee and was successful in bringing Super Bowl LII to Minnesota in 2018. The facility is capable of hosting hundreds of community, national, and international events each year.
Wilf and his brother Mark also led the development of the Vikings new headquarters, Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, which opened in March 2018 in Eagan, Minnesota. As the day-to-day and training camp home of the team, TCO Performance Center serves as the centerpiece of Viking Lakes, a 200-acre, mixed-use development that will ultimately encompass three million square feet of corporate office, medical, retail, entertainment and multi-family housing. Over the past several years, the growing campus has added the northern office of the United States Tennis Association, Salvo Soccer, Viking Lakes Residences and the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel. The site also includes the Vikings Museum and the Vikings Locker Room team store, as well as Twin Cities Orthopedics Eagan Clinic and the Training Haus. In May 2025, the campus will include the CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) Connection Center, an approximately 40,000-square-foot site for learning and development, ongoing training, team building and more for the eighth-largest accounting firm in the United States.
Philanthropy has long been a key point of emphasis for the Wilfs, which was most recently evident throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wilf Family Foundations and the Vikings gave over $5 million in donations and commitments to support health care workers, the elderly, food banks social service organizations and Jewish causes in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and Israel. Zygi and Mark have also been actively engaged with the team's player-led Social Justice Committee. Since 2018, the Wilf family and the Vikings have donated more than $7 million to social justice causes throughout the United States, including $5 million in June 2020. Their continued work with players focuses on three areas: 1) reducing socioeconomic disparities; 2) expanding educational curriculum on racism and Black history; and 3) advocating for law enforcement and criminal justice reform.
Throughout their heavy involvement in business and civic endeavors, the Wilfs have been particularly dedicated to children's health issues. In 2015, Zygi and Mark donated $5 million to the University of Minnesota to create the Wilf Family Center. Designed to be the intellectual center of children's health care in the Midwest, the center has an impact extending far beyond the region's borders. In 2017, under the Wilfs' leadership, the Vikings launched the new Vikings Foundation with the mission of advancing the well-being of youth through engaging health and education initiatives. In 2019, the Foundation unveiled Vikings Table, a food truck that provides free meals to underserved children in Minneapolis-St. Paul and surrounding communities. In its first six months of operation, Vikings Table served more than 4,500 meals and to date has provided over 27,000 meals to families in need.
The journey for Wilf from avid New York Giants fan sitting in the bleachers of Yankee Stadium in the 1960s to taking over the leadership of one of the NFL's proudest franchises has been marked by bold and well-founded business decisions, commitment to family and employees, and appreciation for NFL history. Wilf was recognized in 2013 with the Fritz Pollard Alliance's Tank Younger Award in honor of his commitment to hiring and promoting minority candidates on the football and business side of the Vikings franchise. In spring 2019 the Wilf Family Foundations made a $1 million donation to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to help the development of a Founders Exhibit that shines a light on the many contributions of founders and owners of NFL franchises.
Along with his ownership of the Vikings, Wilf is a principal of Garden Homes, a nationwide leader in retail, commercial and private residential development. He was part-owner of the MLS's Nashville SC franchise and a founder of WISE (Wilf Innovative Sports & Entertainment) Ventures, an investment fund based in Manhattan focused on early and growth stage investment opportunities in sports entertainment and real estate. In 2021, Wilf became vice chair and managing partner for Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride.
Wilf, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wilf, emigrated with his parents from Europe to the United States in the early 1950s and settled in New Jersey. He attended nearby Fairleigh Dickinson University, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and later graduated from New York Law School in Manhattan. Wilf, and wife, Audrey, have four children and 10 grandchildren.
