A surname that, in NFL circles, currently is the punchline to a joke could soon be tied to one of the most storied franchises in all of sports.

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller could be purchasing a portion of the Steelers, but that Dan Rooney could run the team “as long as he wants.”

But what happens after Dan Rooney is no longer running the team?  Based on a Wednesday report from the Post-Gazette, Druckenmiller could end up in charge.

According to Gerry Dulac, Druckenmiller is talking with three, and possibly four, of the Rooney brothers about purchasing their pieces of the team.  He reportedly was approached several months ago about buying the interests of Tim, John, and Pat Rooney.  Citing an unnamed source, Dulac notes that Druckenmiller also might attempt to acquire the share of Art Rooney, Jr. 

If Druckenmiller would buy out the four brothers, he would hold 64 percent of the team, leaving Dan Rooney with 16 percent.

Under a somewhat unconvential structure, the five Rooney brothers own 16 percent of the team each.  The remaining 20 percent is owned by the family of Jack McGinley, who was married to the sister of Art Rooney, Sr.  (The rules requiring one person to own at least 30 percent of the team don’t apply to the Rooneys, because their structure was in place when the rule was implemented.)

Druckenmiller became involved in the current situation because some of the Rooneys were miffed at the amount of a proposal from Dan Rooney to buy out Tim, Pat, and John Rooney.

Dulac also reports that Druckenmiller attempted roughly 10 years ago to purchase McGinley’s share of the team, but was rebuffed.

Former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue reportedly is helping the Rooneys work through the situation.  With all due respect, the condition of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which Tagliabue pushed through in 2006, would be a solid argument for going in a different direction.

Though the Rooneys understandably would prefer that this matter be resolved quickly and quietly while keeping one or more Rooneys in control of the franchise, the reality is that their family-owned business has grown into a billion-dollar behemoth, and that the dilution of the ownership among five brothers now makes it impossible for any of them to come up with the kind of cash that would be necessary to prevent someone like Druckenmiller from swooping in with enticing offers to convert those chunks of a team that was purchased with the proceeds of the patriarch’s good day at the horse track into several $100 million paydays.