Joel Glazer is part of the Glazer family, who control First Allied Corporation and the Zapata Corporation, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, and England's Manchester United Football Club. The family is based in Florida.
Glazer was born to a Jewish family, the son of Linda and Malcolm Glazer, American businessman and billionaire. Glazer received a degree in interdisciplinary studies from American University in Washington, D.C., and is currently the joint Chairman of the Manchester United board with his brother Avram. Joel and Avram were appointed by their father, Malcolm Glazer.
During the 2002 off-season, Joel worked with brothers Edward and Bryan, in hiring one of the rising coaching stars in the NFL in Jon Gruden. Gruden was the first non-rookie head coach in the history of the NFL to lead his team to the Super Bowl in his first season with a new team.
Glazer has helped to lead the design for the franchise's new 145,000-square-foot (13,500 m2) training facility, promising a "world-class facility" that will be the finest in the National Football League. The facility, which opened in time for the 2006 NFL season, was built on the former Tampa Bay Center mall site across the street from Raymond James Stadium. The signature of the new facility will be its entrance, which features the world’s largest football statue that towers nearly five stories tall. Since the team’s inception in 1976, Tampa Bay has been based for the last 30 seasons at One Buccaneer Place, a training facility located near the Tampa International Airport.