NFL is long overdue for a woman in a general manager role

Throughout the years, I’ve been asked one question an innumerable amount of times:

When do you think there will be a woman in a general manager role in the NFL?

Our league has made progress towards being more diverse and inclusive. Now, women occupy numerous positions in the NFL, spread across its 32 teams, from senior roles downwards. However, there is still a significant journey ahead.

In my time working in the NFL, I have encountered several women who would have made strong general managers. Unfortunately, I have also seen how women can be sidelined from this career path, with their roles unfairly minimized by titles that diminish their value, even when they are performing jobs that are equivalent to those executed by men with more prestigious titles. Consider Kim Ng, who rose to become the first woman in a general manager role in any of the four major American professional sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) and built a playoff roster for the Miami Marlins in 2023. The team could have created the conditions for her to continue flourishing. Instead, she apparently was not given the leeway to enact her vision for the organization’s future and chose to part ways with the Marlins.

My answer to the question above is always the same: The NFL already should have had a woman GM. Dawn Aponte has more than three decades of experience and is currently the NFL’s Chief Football Administrative Officer. Her lengthy résumé, work ethic and drive make her more than qualified. Everyone saw Dawn run point and handle an incredibly difficult situation last January in Cincinnati, when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field. Not only did she demonstrate the capability and strength to lead in that critical moment, but she was part of a leadership group that made sound decisions in the worst of circumstances under a prime-time spotlight. She and the leadership team reminded the football world about the importance of judicious decision-making and empathy. There was no one better to handle that situation.

Dawn, who strived to achieve her professional ambitions while bringing up four children with her husband, Kevin, always chose the stairs over the elevator. She attributes her journey to a piece of advice she received early in her career.

She recently conveyed to me during a discussion about her career trajectory, “Your official work hours may be from 8 to 6, but the real building of your career happens before 8 a.m. and after 6 p.m.” I took her words to heart, and that’s the reason why I devoted my nights and weekends to staying at the facility to undertake various tasks such as research projects, sending paperwork via FedEx or fax, picking up dinner, typing contract terms, or any other necessary tasks.

Dawn commenced her professional journey with the New York Jets in 1991, starting out as a summer intern, a position she held until 1993. She transitioned to a full-time staff accountant role in 1994. During her early years with the Jets, she expressed her ambition to a team executive, stating her desire to work within the football aspect of the organization. In response, he laughingly remarked, “That’s cute, but you know it’s not culturally acceptable for women to work on the football side.”

She described the comment as a “pivotal moment and driving force for the subsequent decades,” which led her to understand that nobody should impose limits on or determine what one “can or cannot do.”

“Dawn, whom I first met in 1997 when I joined the Jets, explained why she earned her CPA, MBA, and law degree. “One of the main reasons I pursued these degrees was to ensure that I wouldn’t be overlooked because I lacked equivalent or superior qualifications compared to any other (male) candidate,” she said. “I wanted to set myself apart in any possible way, which also included learning and comprehending football, player evaluation, salary cap, and so on. Conversing with football professionals who were open to educating me was one of the most beneficial ways to achieve this.”

Dawn consistently advanced in her career within the Jets organization, holding positions such as staff accountant from 1994-2001, manager/salary cap analyst from 2001-04, director of football administration from 2004-05, and senior director of football administration from 2005-06. She then transitioned to the league office, working as the director of labor finance and subsequently promoted to a vice president role. Later, Dawn returned to club level, functioning as the VP of football administration for the Cleveland Browns from 2009-2010. She then moved on to the Miami Dolphins where she held the positions of SVP of football operations from 2010-12 and EVP of football administration from 2012-16.

Dawn certainly isn’t lacking in experience, but you’ll see that the word “administration” appears more frequently in her job titles than “operations.” The only time “operations” was included in her title was during her tenure with Bill Parcells in Miami. She fondly remembers Parcells saying, “I hire people I believe can contribute to our success, and that’s why I’m employing you.” Following Parcells’ exit from Miami, Dawn climbed the ranks to become the EVP of football administration.

Aponte still should be considered — and, eventually, hired — for a role as an NFL GM. There are several notable women in high-ranking positions across the league’s 32 teams with whom you are likely familiar, including Catherine Raiche (the Cleveland Browns’ assistant general manager and vice president of football operations who interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings’ GM position in 2022), Kelly Kleine (the Denver Broncos’ executive director of football operations/special advisor to the general manager) and Jacqueline Davidson (the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ vice president of football research).

Here are three more women in the NFL who could potentially develop into strong GM candidates in the future:

Hannah Burnett, New York Giants college area scout: Burnett is in her fourth season as an area scout with the Giants. Prior to joining New York, Burnett was with the Atlanta Falcons, first serving as a scouting coordinator and then a scouting assistant. I hired her for that entry-level position when I was Atlanta’s assistant GM, and I watched her improve and dedicate herself to learning the evaluation process in order to achieve her goal of becoming a scout. Burnett also spent time as a player personnel assistant at the league office.

Kasia Omilian, Indianapolis Colts NFS scout: Omilian is in her second season as a National Football Scouting scout with the Colts. Prior to that role, she served as a football operations intern with the Colts (2019-2020) and interned in the football operations department with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the summers of 2017 and ’18.

Ameena Soliman, Philadelphia Eagles director of personnel operations/pro scout: Soliman is in her sixth year with the Philadelphia Eagles and her second in her current role. Since originally joining the organization as an intern in 2018, Soliman has worked as a player personnel coordinator (2019-2020) for the team and as a pro scout (2021). Prior to joining the Eagles, Soliman worked as a player personnel assistant with the NFL league office (2017-18) after serving as a football operations and recruiting graduate assistant with Temple University.

Scott Pioli has decades of experience building NFL teams. He made five trips to the Super Bowl as an executive, winning three championships as a member of the New England Patriots’ front office. In addition to being a five-time NFL Executive of the Year, Pioli is on the Board of Trustees of the Women’s Sports Foundation (founded by Billie Jean King) and serves as an advisor to Women Leaders in Sports CEO Patti Phillips. He also sits on the board of the Black College Football Hall of Fame and is a founding member of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Council.