Who was Susan Tose Spencer? Meet NFL's first female GM who opened doors for women in sports leadership

Susan Tose Spencer broke glass ceilings as the first and only female general manager in NFL history during her time with the Philadelphia Eagles. She is remembered for her tenacity, business acumen, and commitment to enabling women. Her legacy continues to be felt in a league that's only just starting to mirror the changes she established decades ago.

Susan Tose Spencer's vision paved way for women in NFL

Before the NFL had official diversity programs or women working in front offices, there was Susan Tose Spencer, attorney, businesswoman, and pioneering Eagles GM. A daughter of flashy team owner Leonard Tose, she held a series of senior-level jobs with the Eagles in the early 1980s: general manager, vice president, and attorney—all while women weren't even a blip on the radar for such jobs.
That challenge was an internal one. Tose Spencer was charged with taming her father's profligate lifestyle—a man who took to the skies in helicopters, treated himself to five-star lobster brunches, and paid his workers in tips dispensed in brand-new $100 bills. But when her father lost millions at the casino, Tose Spencer jumped into action, bringing in forensic accountants and top female executives like Mimi Box, who would ultimately become the Eagles' CFO.
Even though she was never officially credited with the GM title in public records, Spencer worked effectively at the top of the front office, assisting in the drafting of superstars Reggie White and Randall Cunningham and overseeing the 1985 sale of the Eagles to Norman Braman—a transaction that preserved the franchise from being relocated to Arizona.
Tose Spencer graduated from law school at age 35, started a women's tennis wear business in the 1970s, and after leaving the Eagles, operated a food distribution company and founded a youth sports foundation in Las Vegas. She continued to be a tireless champion of women in positions of leadership until her diagnosis with dementia in the late 2010s.
Tose Spencer's impact is quantifiable: The Eagles, drowning in debt at one point, are today worth $8.3 billion with a front office setup many credit her with establishing.
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Susan Tose Spencer became a football executive through her dad's name, but she made history by changing the rules for women in the sport. She passed away in March this year at the age of 83.


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