• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    remembering jamey rootes

    Top Texas sports figures react to death of pioneering Houston Texans president Jamey Rootes

    Steven Devadanam
    Aug 23, 2022 | 8:55 pm
    Jamey Rootes Houston Texans
    The Texans boasted 185 straight sellouts during Rootes' 18-year tenure as team president.
    Photo courtesy of the Houston Texans

    Tributes from across the state — and nation — are pouring in as the sports world reacts to the death of former Houston Texans team president Jamey Rootes. The man credited with the Texans’ off-field success from 2002 to 2020 passed away on Sunday, August 21 in Houston after a battle with mental health issues at age 56, according to his wife Melissa Wildgen Rootes, who first shared the news via Facebook.

     

    In the post, Melissa Rootes cited her husband’s tenure as Texans president and added that he was “best known for his devotion to his family and friends.” She also called him “a dedicated Houstonian who loved his city and touched so many lives through his professional, academic, and philanthropic work.” And in a poignant plea, she urged those “thinking about suicide or experiencing a health crisis” to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255).

     

    Well known in Houston as a charismatic, passionate innovator with a relentless commitment to the fan experience and an uncanny ability to build the business side of the team from ground up, Rootes’ reputation far transcended Bayou City borders.

     

     From Dallas, with love
    “The entire Jones Family — the Dallas Cowboys Family — all grieve the loss of Jamey,” Dallas Cowboys executive vice president and chief sales and marketing officer Jerry Jones, Jr., tells CultureMap exclusively. “We send all of our love and support to his wife Melissa, their two children, and the entire Houston Texans organization. Jamey was an incredible professional and a dear friend, but most importantly, a dedicated husband and father.”

     

    That a Jones family member stopped in the middle of a busy training camp to send a heartfelt message about Rootes speaks to his deep connections in pro football circles. Rootes worked especially closely with the Cowboys during Hurricane Harvey; the Cowboys offered aid and facilities as the Texans literally and figuratively navigated the storm. Rootes and Texans owner Robert “Bob” McNair also worked with the Cowboys in The Governor’s Cup, the highly anticipated showdown between Texas’ two biggest football teams.

     

    “Jamey had a tremendous impact not only on the NFL as a whole,” Jones Jr. continues, “but specifically to the Dallas Cowboys through numerous meetings, events, and talks with our organization over the years. As a confidant and a colleague, he impacted many of the marketing and business ideas we, the Jones Family, implemented. He will be dearly missed.”

     

    Texans CEO and chairman Cal McNair said he, his wife Hannah, and the Texans are “heartbroken” at the loss of their friend of two decades when they addressed the media on Tuesday, August 23:

     
     

    It’s a sad day for us here at the Texans. We’re really heartbroken. The loss of our friend, Jamey Rootes, our 20-year-old friendship. Jamey led the Houston Texans’ business department at a very high level for two decades. He was also really involved with Houston and giving back and one of his favorites was United Way. So, he’ll be missed by his Texans family. He’ll be missed by the Houston community, and our sincere condolences go to his family — his wife, Melissa, his kids — as we all work through a difficult time.

     

     

     A true “visionary”
    When Bob McNair won the rights to an NFL franchise and founded the Texans in 1999, he tapped Rootes, a marketing hot shot, to be the team’s first president. While the Texans evaluated first-overall draft picks and hired coaching staff on the field, Rootes oversaw the fan experience, from ultra-swank suites to the endzone and parking lots on game day.

     

    From the time the team played its inaugural game in 2002 through the end of Rootes’ tenure in 2020 (he officially retired in 2021), the Texans boasted 185 consecutive sellouts.

     

    “One of the easiest ways that I would always categorize Jamey is as a visionary,” Kevin Cooper, the former head of communications for the Texans, tells CultureMap. “He had a vision of what he wanted. He had a vision of life and how to get there.”

     

    That vision, Cooper notes, was pivotal in creating one of the most enduring fan experiences in team history. “Tailgating was so important to Jamey because he listened to the fans,” Cooper recalls. “He asked, ‘What do you guys want?’ Tailgating was one thing that they didn’t have, especially not with the prior organization. So Jamey said, ‘Okay, that’s going to be a priority—that’s what we're going to do.” Since then, the stadium parking lots have been jam-packed with tailgaters, some who arrive as early as 5 am.

     

    “It’s all a credit to him,” Cooper continues. “When it came to doing big time deals, you know, stadium deals, parking lot deals, a full stadium, a commitment to traffic flows, or creating that perfect fan experience — that was all Jamey.”

     

     Texas-sized value
    Despite not ever venturing close to a Super Bowl, the Texans have been a high-value team. Cooper again cites Rootes for that success.

     

    “One of the things that Mr. McNair used to always talk about was valuation. When these valuations of sports organizations started coming out, the Texans were always in the top five and top 10 — in the world. And it’s just like, how’s that getting done? We’re not the Cowboys — I mean, we’re not America’s team. We’re not the Patriots. We don’t have the history of the New York Giants or the Washington organization. But there we were. Mr. McNair put a lot of faith in Jamey, and Jamey delivered.”

     

    (Most recently, Forbes ranked the Texans No. 11 in its ranking of most valuable NFL teams.)

     

     Beyond football
    While certainly a pro football ops guru, Rootes also had a keen eye for the first football—soccer. Though Rootes had a short stint with the Houston Dynamo FC as CEO, Cooper notes that Rootes deserves credit for bringing the biggest sporting event in the world to our city.

     

    “One of the biggest things that we have in the city of Houston, because of Jamey, is this love of soccer. Jamey learned what the Houston market was, he sold it, and he did a very good job of it. Now, we have the World Cup coming here, and he started that vision back in 2003. By the time that it gets here, it will be 23 years in the making. That’s 23 years of something that this guy just had a real vision around.”

     

    Possessing a vision for charity as well, Rootes joined his favorite outside nonprofit, the United Way, in raising more than $50 million for Hurricane Harvey relief in 2017. He also directed the Houston Texans Foundation, which has raised some $36 million for various causes. He co-chaired the Greater Houston COVID-19 Recovery Fund, which raised more than $17 million for those in need during and after the pandemic. “Jamey was all about the city,” says Cooper. “He worked with business leaders, city leaders, he taught classes — everything was a benefit to the city.”

     

     Forever a Texan
    “I don’t think there are any words to describe what Jamey meant to the Houston Texans,” says ESPN 97.5 FM morning host John Granato. “He was instrumental in all their successes over his 20-plus years there, but he was also a great, great person. I am deeply sorry for his family and loved ones. He will be sorely missed.”

     

    That sentiment is echoed by David Gow, CEO of Gow Media (which also owns ESPN 97.5 FM, CultureMap, InnovationMap, and SportsMap). “Jamey was a good friend to me and to many,” says Gow. “Beyond his remarkable leadership of the Texans, Jamey cared deeply for the community. He worked tirelessly on great causes and made a mark on the lives of many. We will miss him.”

     

    Former Houston Astros team president Reid Ryan, who was traveling when contacted by CultureMap for this story and was unable to comment, promptly pointed us to his thoughtful Twitter post honoring Rootes.

     

    “When I came to the Astros in 2013,” Ryan wrote, “Jamey Rootes was one of the first people to welcome me. His ‘can do’ attitude was infectious. He loved Houston and worked hard to promote the city. I valued his opinion and he pushed me to be better. Prayers for Melissa and his family.”

     

     Raise one to Jamey
    Beyond vision, Cooper points to another key trait Rootes possessed: dedication. “Jamey had such an admiration for Bob McNair,” he says. “You know, he really saw him as one of the biggest male influences in his life, and he always wanted to make sure Bob’s organization was taken care of — both inside and out.”

     

    Cooper also chuckles when imagining Rootes’ reaction to the lavish praise being heaped on him. “Jamey didn’t want attention for himself, he wanted results. It was all about getting the job done. I mean, his daughter was born during the Super Bowl. But, he made sure he dedicated himself to the Super Bowl here — and to his family.”

     

    The often stoic and straight-talking Cooper pauses when asked how fans can best pay tribute to the man who most assuredly deserves a spot on the Texans’ Mount Rushmore — and for building Houston’s pro football infrastructure.

     

    “You know what, Jamey was all about the fans,” says Cooper. “When you go out to the Texans tailgate, just make sure and think of him when you’re there. Have a good time as a fan— that’s what Jamey was all about.”

     
    houston-texanssportsdeaths
    news/city-life
    news/sports

    This Week's Hot Headlines

    10 hot Houston Restaurant Weeks newcomers lead our most popular stories

    CultureMap Staff
    Jul 19, 2025 | 11:00 am
    Kitchen Rumors restaurant lobster dumplings
    Photo by Chris Furia
    undefined

    Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Houston news of the week, beginning with the highly anticipated 2025 Houston Restaurant Weeks lineup. Plus, Texas tops a distressing new report. Get the details on our most popular stories below, then visit this event guide for more weekend fun.

    1. 10 eateries participating in Houston Restaurant Weeks for the first time. One of the most eagerly anticipated days of the year for people who love Houston restaurants has arrived. Houston Restaurant Weeks has released the first wave of menus for its 2025 event, and we've compiled 10 newcomers worth a visit.

    2. TikTok star Keith Lee crafts matcha latte for Hill Country flood relief. The devastating floods that swept across Central Texas on July 4 are bringing out all kinds of charitable endeavors — and that includes a limited-edition beverage from Texas-based TikTok food influencer Keith Lee.

     Keith Lee and matcha drink Keith Lee hoists his special matcha drink.  Instagram  

    3. Award-winning Houston chef dishes on season 4 of hit show The Bear. On this episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” James Beard Award-winning chef Justin Yu discusses season four of The Bear with Eric Sandler. It’s become an annual tradition for the two men.

    4. Two-week dining event celebrates Houston's Latin-owned restaurants. This spicy celebration of Latin food and culture continues through July 25.

    5. Texas ranks as No. 1 most 'financially distressed' state in America. Experiencing financial strife is a nightmare of many Americans, but it appears to be a looming reality for Texans, according to a just-released study that ranks Texas the No. 1 most "financially distressed" state.

    hot-headlineshouston restaurant weekskeith leeflood reliefthe bearpodcastsrankingsreportswallethubpopular stories
    news/city-life
    news/sports

    most read posts

    Texas ranks as No. 1 most 'financially distressed' state in America

    Inner loop pickleball bar expands into neighboring burger joint

    Two week dining event celebrates Houston's Latin-owned restaurants

    Loading...