Former Houston Texans receiver Andre Johnson, left, unveils a photograph of co-founders Robert and Janice McNair during a ceremony to introduce Robert McNair to the ring of honor during an NFL football game at NRG Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, in Houston.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
Houston Texans co-founder Janice McNair sits with kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn (7) and punter Bryan Anger (9) on the heated bench on the Texans sidelines before an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019, in Baltimore.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
Janice McNair, Houston Texans co-founder and senior chair, is seen after being inducted into the Texans Ring of Honor during the halftime of an NFL football game at NRG Stadium in Houston, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Stonerside farm – Janice and Bob McNair. HOUCHRON CAPTION (11/26/2000): Bob and Janice McNair have enjoyed keeping an eye on Chilukki, who won the stable’s first Eclipse Award and owns track records for two different distances at Churchill Downs.
Michael J. Marten/Special to the Chronicle
Bob and Janice McNair, and Rhonda and Gary Kubiak (l-r) pose for photos after the Houston Texans’ press conference to introduce Kubiak as the new head coach, at the Hobby Center, Thursday, January 26, 2006. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle)
KAREN WARREN/HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Houston Texans Co-Founder Janice McNair, center, is seen in a wheelchair pushed by her son and Texans CEO Cal McNair before an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Houston.
Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer
Janice McNair and Cal McNair pose with the framed ring of honor jacket for Robert C. McNair, who was inducted during the halftime of an NFL football game at NRG Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019, in Houston.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
Chairman and CEO of the Houston Texans Robert McNair, center right, rings the closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange Friday, April 19, 2002. Looking on are NFL Draft Picks Bryant McKinnie, far left and David Carr, second left, NYSE Chairman Richard Grasso, draft pick Quentin Jammer, behind Grasso, Janice McNair, Houston Texans vice chairman Chuck Watson, and NFL Draft Picks Julius Peppers, second right, and Mike WIlliams, right. The 2002 NFL Draft will take place Saturday, April 20, at Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Chad Rachman). HOUCHRON CAPTION (04/20/2002): Texans owner Bob McNair, fifth from right, rings the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. McNair has been promoting both Houston and the Texans in the days leading up to the NFL draft. At his right is his wife, Janice, and David Carr is second from left. HOUSTON CHRONICLE SPECIAL SECTION: NFL DRAFT. 2002.
CHAD RACHMAN/AP
Wortham Theatre Center Grand Foyer Houston Grand Opera Ball L-R:honoree Bob McNair; honoree Janice McNair; chair I.W. Marks;chair Shelly Ann Marks. Craig H. Hartley/Special to the Chronicle
CRAIG H. HARTLEY/SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Team owner Bob McNair and his wife Janice applaud after watching composer Sam Spence lead the Houston Texans Bull Pen Pep Band perform his new fight song at Reliant Stadium Saturday June 16,2007. .(Dave Rossman/For the Chronicle)
Dave Rossman/For the Chronicle
Bob McNair, Eleanor Connan, Lynn Wyatt and Janice McNair, seated 11/17/1998 HOUCHRON CAPTION (12/06/1998): Bob McNair, Eleanor Connan, Janice McNair and Lynn Wyatt recently gathered at the McNairs’ River Oaks home to make final arrangements for Monday’s opening of the new Chanel boutique in the Galleria. The event benefits Trees of Hope.
E. Joseph Deering/Houston Chronicle
Robert NcNair, former first lady Barbara Bush, and Janice McNair at the “Brookwood Proud, Texas Proud” biennial benefit lunch.
Amber Elliott/Houston Chronicle
Janice McNair, the co-founder of the Houston Texans along with her late husband Bob McNair, died Tuesday. She was 89.
McNair died of natural causes, her son Cal McNair, the Texans’ chair and CEO, told the Houston Chronicle. The team first announced her death in a statement.
“She was really so optimistic and thought the best was going to happen and saw the best in people,” Cal McNair said in a phone interview. “She was a true Southern lady and she was great role model for all of us, especially growing up.”
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JANICE McNAIR: What to know about Texans’ late co-founder
Janice McNair, who was the team’s principal owner after her husband’s death in 2018 until Cal was moved into that role in 2024, recently made a public appearance in June to watch one of the Texans’ offseason practices.
Janice married her husband Bob in April 1957. They met in Columbia, S.C, moved to Houston in 1960 and raised four children, sons Cary and Cal and daughters Melissa and Ruth. The McNairs had 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
She co-founded the Texans franchise in 1999 with her husband, bringing a NFL team back to Houston after Bud Adams moved the Oilers to Tennessee in 1997.
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REACTION: What former players and others are saying
The McNairs spent $700 million for the franchise, whose first season began in 2002. This fall will mark the team’s 25th season. Janice McNair often operated behind the scenes and was rarely interviewed on the record.
But she served as the right hand and sounding board for her husband when he made decisions for the Texans — an example Cal McNair has said he has tried to model with his wife, Hannah McNair.
She also played a huge part in the Houston Texans Foundation, which she helped start. It has raised $51 million for the community since its founding.
“She loved the Texans,” Cal McNair said of his mother. “We wanted her to raise that (Lombardi) trophy. We came up a little bit short, but we still plan on doing that for her.”
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WHAT NOW?: How Janice McNair’s death affects ownership
Hannah McNair, who is now the Houston Texans Foundation’s chief community officer, said Janice McNair was her mentor.
“My queen,” she said through tears. “She made every person she talked to feel special. She always had so much joy and care. Love and hope. Never saw the negative in any situation. Always saw the positive. Any time the team was losing or struggling she always said we’re going to get better.”
The two added that she’d often tell coach DeMeco Ryans anytime he needed her, she was ready to play.
Houston Texans co-founder and chair Janice McNair wears an AFC South championship hat after the Texans beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 to take the division at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, in Tampa.
Brett Coomer/Staff photographer
Ryans, who played for the Texans from 2006-11 before returning as head coach three years ago, added a statement through the team’s press release.
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“Mrs. McNair was an incredible woman who will be deeply missed,” Ryans said. “As a player, she and Mr. McNair built an organization that felt like a family and it was a true honor to play for them.
“I will always remember the day I came home to Houston in 2023. Mrs. McNair welcomed me back into the Texans family with open arms and her signature warm smile. We shared the same vision of bringing the organization to new heights and I will continue to work every day to accomplish that goal.”
Texans legend J.J. Watt, who played for the franchise from 2011-20, offered condolences on the social media app X.
“All of us who were graced with your presence and kindness are better for it,” Watt said.
McNair’s death comes almost five years after she suffered a stroke, relegating her to a wheelchair and around-the-clock nurses. Her stroke was at the center of a court case in which her eldest son, Cary, filed a guardianship case over her in Harris County Probate Court. That case was later dropped in February 2024.
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But at least two cases among the four siblings remain ongoing.
Janice McNair was the fourth person inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2025, joining her late husband, Andre Johnson and Watt. During the induction ceremony, she took the microphone and said “I really want to say, ‘Let’s go, Texans, let’s win this ballgame.’”
Houston Texans Co-Founder Janice McNair, left, visits with Hannah McNair, Vice President Houston Texans Foundation, before an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Houston.
Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer
Current Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud also offered his condolences on Instagram.
“One of the sweetest souls I’ve ever been around!” Stroud said. “Thank you for your kind words and sweet smiles every time I seen you!”
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell in a statement called Janice McNair “a woman of extraordinary generosity, grace and faith, whose impact on the Houston community and the NFL will be felt for generations.”
“Alongside Bob, she helped bring the NFL back to her beloved Houston and played an essential role in building the Texans into an organization that reflects the values they held dear — service, integrity, and commitment to community.”
Janice Suber was born on Sept. 30, 1936 and grew up in Orangeburg, S.C. She was active in sports, choir and student government. She graduated from Columbia (S.C.) College. It was there she met her husband, Bob.
The McNairs became one of the wealthiest families in Houston, making their money from Cogen Technologies, which launched in 1984, and became the largest privately held power company in the country. Bob McNair sold Cogen for $1 billion.
The two made education and medical research the focus of their charitable giving. They established the Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation with the goal being to remove some of the financial barriers that were preventing Rutherford County High school graduates from attending college. It has awarded $2.6 million in financial aid to students.
After her husband’s death in November 2018, Janice McNair assumed the role of principal owner and the head of the family’s trusts. At the time, she was one of 10 female NFL owners or co-owners. She was also a breast cancer survivor.
“She was arm and arm with Dad in bringing the team back and believing the community was so important and making giving back to the community such a priority,” Cal McNair said. “Trying to make the world a better place was something she always focused on.”