Lewis Hamilton and 5 more Sports Superstars who own a football team

Nowadays several athletes are actively interested in a sports team franchise. Today we are going to talk about football team ownerships by former athletes. These athletes not only have a big name in the sports world but are powerhouses themselves. 

They can shoot, score, build a legacy, and even own a sports team. Among them some are footballers, others are famous NBA or NHL stars, boxers, etc. In this article, we will discuss a list of sports stars who were former athletes and own a football team now. Let’s start with Formula One racing star, Lewis Hamilton.

Also Read| “I wanted to end my life”: Broncos WR KJ Hamler reflects on the DARKEST phase of his life

Sports stars who own football teams

Lewis Hamilton:

Lewis Hamilton is a well-known name among racers. Currently competing in Formula One of Mercedes, he has a joint record for 7 World Drivers Championship titles holding records for the most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes.

The World Champion joined the ownership group of the NFL’s Denver Broncos. He joined as a limited shareholder as stated on behalf of the Walton-Penner family ownership group. The Walton-Penner family group entered into a purchase agreement with the Broncos for $4.65 billion in June, to which Hamilton has been added recently.

Serena Williams and Venus Williams: 

The William sisters are professional American tennis players. Serena Williams is a 23 times Grand Slam title winner and Venus Williams is a 7 times Grand Slam title winner both in singles. Both the sisters are minority stake owners of the Miami Dolphins since 2009.

They have been seen attending the Dolphin’s final match of 2021 at Dolphins Stadium, Miami. They have a 0.5% stake in the team, as per therichest.com. The NFL team has a net worth of $3.42 billion bringing the Williams cut to $17 million.

John Elway:

John Albert Elway Jr. is a former quarterback and currently an American professional football executive, and president of football operations for the Denver Broncos of the NFL. He was part of the Broncos throughout his 16 professional years. He was offered a minority stake while he was still playing.

Broncos’ previous owner Pat Blowen bought Broncos at $78 million in 1984. Blowen offered John Elway 10% of the team with $21 million and another 10%  for $15 million. But Elway gave up the rights of first refusal to buy the whole team which could have gotten him $930 million approximately in today’s time. Even after passing the ownership stake, he made $45.4 million in his career and $82.5 million from car ownership deals.

Warrick Dunn:

Warrick De’Mon Dunn is a former American footballer who participated in the NFL for 12 seasons. He got drafted the 12th overall in the 1997 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He’s been a favorite of the Atlanta Falcons and played with them from 2002-2007.

After amassing $36 million approximately in NFL career earnings, he didn’t take a turn before cementing his ownership stake in the team. In 2009 he purchased the Atlanta Falcons. Currently, he runs with a net worth of $11 million.

Dave Whelan:

Dave Whelan, the 85-year-old is a businessman and former footballer for the Blackburn Rovers and Crewe Alexandra.  He’s a former owner of the Wigan Athletic football club and served as its president for 20 years. He later transferred the responsibility to his grandson who in turn passed the ownership of the team to the International Entertainment Corporation. 

In 1995 he purchased the club and led them up to the Premier League when they were still in their fourth tier. He bought the team for $1 million back in 1995, and later IEC bought it for $22 million in 2018.

Jerry Richardson:

Jerry Richarson is a former American NFL player, businessman, and former owner of the National Football League. He played as a flanker for the Baltimore Colts from 1959-1960.

He became the owner of the Carolina Panthers in 1993 when the team was unanimously awarded the NFL’s 29th franchise. The team was estimated to have a value of $2.3 billion in 2017, 21st among 32 NFL clubs. In 1993 Richardson paid $206 million to own the team.

Also Read| “We can grind through it, but…”: LA Rams Quarterback Matthew Stafford’s elbow issues keeps him out

George Halas who was a former coach, player, and team owner of the NFL’s Chicago Bears, passed away in 1983. He was dearly known as “Papa Bear” or “Mr. Everything”. Not only was he the owner of the team, but also the founder, and a head coach for the players.

Apart from all these former athletes, there are people who are either businessmen or investors, who own NFL teams. But for now, we will remain true to our topic. A few names of other owners who are non-athletes will be, Virginia McCaskey, Mellody Hobson, and David Tepper.

Also Read| “SHOCKING”: NFL takes major action against Dolphins owner for tampering with Tom Brady & Sean Payton

Do follow us on: Google News | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter