Smith was also the founding owner of the National Football League (NFL)'s Atlanta Falcons.

First, to the former Miriam "MeMe" Wellman (1945–1974) with whom he fathered five children: Rankin, Carroll, Dorothy Ann, Taylor and Karen.

Smith continued to manage day-to-day operations of the team until 1989, when he turned control of the team over to his son Taylor Smith (who started as a team ballboy as a kid before moving on to work at the marketing and public relations departments) although the elder Smith apparently still had a day in decisions due to the management structure being a committee by the late 1980s.

Months before he died, his son convinced him to hire Dan Reeves as head coach and let him have control of the personnel; twenty years prior, Smith displayed reluctance in ceding player control when inquiring about hiring Reeves.

Smith was extremely generous and made significant donations to causes in and around Atlanta, a tradition his estate continued after his death.

In addition to making individual contributions, he led a fundraising drive which raised $43 million[1] for the museum.

In recognition of the donation the university named the major building built under the program, a student-athlete academic center, after Smith.

[13] James Quick and Rodney D. Fort, Paydirt: The Business of Professional Team Sports (Princeton University Press, 1992), ISBN 0-691-04255-1, p. 409.