Travis Kelce buys a piece of the Cleveland Guardians, continuing trend of athletes becoming owners

Travis Kelce has go the latest jock to bargain into a nonrecreational sports team, purchasing a number involvement successful the Cleveland Guardians, the MLB franchise helium rooted for increasing up successful Cleveland Heights, a vibrant suburb 15 minutes from downtown.

Ballplayers buying into nonrecreational sports franchises has go astir routine. And wherefore not? They are wealthy, emotion sports and often privation an ownership involvement of a squad successful a metropolis afloat of fans who emotion them back.

Kelce is the latest to bash so. The lone question is, what took him truthful long?

“I person truthful overmuch emotion for this city,” Kelce told ESPN. “I accidental it each the time: I’m conscionable a kid from the Heights surviving the dream. I recognition each bully happening successful my beingness to Cleveland and being raised present with the values and the radical and the enactment ethic.

“Cleveland Heights is specified a divers and dynamic place. Every friend, neighbor, teacher and teammate — they each made maine the antheral I americium today.”

And that antheral is precise wealthy. The Kansas City Chiefs choky extremity and burgeoning concern titan has earned $111 cardinal playing successful the NFL. He and his member Jason person a $100 cardinal woody with Amazon Wondery for their fashionable New Heights podcast.

Kelce, 36, besides makes an estimated $35 cardinal a twelvemonth from endorsement deals with Nike, Pfizer, State Farm and different large brands.

Oh, and let’s not hide that his fiancee, Taylor Swift, is the wealthiest pistillate instrumentalist successful the satellite with an estimated nett worthy of $1.6 billion.

Although Swift has ne'er publically mentioned owning a sports franchise, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did remark connected the anticipation astatine a Super Bowl quality league 2 years ago.

Tom Brady had been approved arsenic portion proprietor of the Raiders, boosting play summons sales, starring to this question posed to Goodell.

“With that, has anyone approached Taylor Swift astir being a number spouse successful the Chiefs?”

Goodell grinned and replied, “I truly don’t cognize the reply to that one. If she’s interested, she has the quality to bash it, let’s enactment it that way.”

The database of athletes who ain a portion of sports franchises is long. Begin with Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King, portion of the radical that owns the Dodgers and Sparks. Kelce’s Chiefs passing spouse Patrick Mahomes has been a number proprietor of the Kansas City Royals since 2020.

Tennis superstar sisters Venus and Serena Williams became the archetypal achromatic women to clasp a involvement successful an NFL squad erstwhile they became number owners of the Miami Dolphins successful 2009.

Giannis Antetokounmpo expressed his emotion for Milwaukee by purchasing a involvement successful the Brewers shot team. The Lakers are rumored to perchance commercialized for the Milwaukee Bucks superstar this offseason. Would that marque Antetokounmpo a campaigner to instrumentality the Angels disconnected the hands of Arte Moreno, who astatine games has been blistered by a ample radical of shirtless fans chanting “sell the team?”

Because helium is an capitalist successful the Fenway Sports Group, Lakers prima LeBron James owns a portion of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins and RFK Racing. The 41-year-old seasoned of 23 NBA seasons makes nary concealed that helium someday wants to ain an NBA team.

“I got truthful overmuch to springiness to the game. I cognize what it takes to triumph astatine this level. I cognize talent,” James said successful 2021. “I besides cognize however to tally a concern arsenic well. And so, that is my goal. My extremity is to ain an NBA franchise.”

James is the archetypal progressive NBA subordinate to execute billionaire status, and his estimated nett worthy of $1.3 cardinal to $1.5 cardinal puts him successful Swift territory. He mightiness not request to preface his ownership involvement with the connection minority.

Kelce, meanwhile, is blessed for present to ain conscionable a portion of the Guardians, whose worth has risen from $1 cardinal 4 years agone to $1.7 cardinal today.
“I’ve been fortunate capable to person a front-row spot to bully ownership successful my career, and I cognize the champion teams prioritize culture,” Kelce said. “Everyone is determination to play their role, and close now, I’m present to observe and larn and truly to enactment the squad and the metropolis erstwhile and wherever I can.”