List of professional sports team owners

This is a list of individuals, groups of individuals, and companies who have owned and operated a professional sports organization. The list is organized first by sport, then by franchise or team, then by Owner. If an organization has gone through a significant change (e.g. the team has moved and/or changed names), that information is noted after the years of ownership.

Association football club owners

England

Premier League owners

Arsenal
Aston Villa
  • Owned by a large number of shareholders until 1968. Since that time:
  • Doug Ellis (largest single shareholder 1968–1975; majority shareholder 1982–2006)
  • Randy Lerner (2006–2016)
  • Recon Sports Limited (2016-present)
Chelsea
Everton
Fulham
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
  • Manchester United plc (NYSE : MANU) – The club's holding company, owned by shareholders. The primary owner is:
  • Avram and Joel Glazer (brothers who are co-chairmen, 2014–present)
Newcastle United
Stoke City
Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wigan Athletic

Football League Championship owners

Middlesbrough
  • Steve Gibson (1986–1993 as head of consortium; 1993–present as majority owner)
Reading

France

Ligue 1 owners

Girondins de Bordeaux
En Avant de Guingamp
LOSC Lille
FC Lorient
  • Loïc Féry
Olympique Lyonnais
Olympique de Marseille
AS Monaco FC
Montpellier Hérault SC
Paris Saint-Germain
FC Nantes
Stade Rennais
Toulouse F.C.

Spain

La Liga owners

Real Valladolid

USA

Major League Soccer owners

Atlanta United FC
Chicago Fire
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew
D.C. United
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
Los Angeles FC
Los Angeles Galaxy
Minnesota United FC
Montreal Impact
New England Revolution
New York City FC
New York Red Bulls
Orlando City SC
  • Flávio Augusto da Silva – (2013–present)
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
  • Dave Checketts (SCP Worldwide) – (2004–12)
  • Dell Loy Hansen – (2012–present)
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Sporting Kansas City
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Future MLS Owners

Miami
Nashville

Italian Serie A owners

Greek Superleague owners

Olympiacos
Panathinaikos
PAOK
AEK Athens
Skoda Xanthi

Auto racing owners & team principals

Formula One team principals

(Listed by Constructor)

Ferrari
Force India-Mercedes
Haas F1 Team
McLaren-Mercedes
Mercedes Grand Prix
Red Bull-Renault
Scuderia Toro Rosso
Sauber
WilliamsF1

IndyCar Series team owners

A.J. Foyt Enterprises
Andretti Autosport
Bryan Herta Autosport
Carlin Motorsport
Chip Ganassi Racing
Dale Coyne Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
  • Dennis Reinbold – (2000–present)
  • Robbie Buhl – (2000–present)
Ed Carpenter Racing
Harding Steinbrenner Racing
  • Mike Harding – (2017–present)
  • George Michael Steinbrenner IV – (2018–present)
Juncos Racing
  • Ricardo Juncos – (2017–present)
Michael Shank Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Team Penske

NASCAR Cup Series team owners

BK Racing
  • Anthony Marlowe – (2014–present)
  • Ron Devine – (2012–present)
  • Wayne Press – (2012–present)
Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates
Circle Sport Racing
FAS Lane Racing
  • Frank Stoddard – (2011–present)
  • Archie St. Hillaire – (2014–present)
Front Row Motorsports
  • Bob Jenkins – (2005–present)
Furniture Row Racing
Germain Racing
  • Bob Germain – (2004–present)
Hendrick Motorsports
Leavine Family Racing
  • Bob Leavine – (2011–present)
  • Sharon Leavine – (2011–present)
Joe Gibbs Racing
JTG Daugherty Racing
  • Brad Daugherty – (2007–present)
  • Tad Geschickter – (1995–present)
Penske Racing
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Petty Motorsports
  • Richard Petty (main interests) – (2009–present)
  • Boston Ventures (minority interests) – (2009–present)
Roush Fenway Racing
Stewart Haas Racing
Wood Brothers Racing

Baseball franchise owners

Major League Baseball owners

Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Colorado Rockies
Detroit Tigers
Houston Astros
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Los Angeles Dodgers
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
Philadelphia Phillies
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals
Tampa Bay Rays
Texas Rangers
Toronto Blue Jays
Washington Nationals

Nippon Professional Baseball owners

In Japanese baseball, teams are traditionally owned by companies and bear that company's name. Only one team in recent years has not borne a corporate name—the Yokohama BayStars went without a corporate name from 1993 through 2011 because its owner chose not to attach its name to the team. The company identifier is indicated in bold type in the owner list.

Chiba Lotte Marines
Chunichi Dragons
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
Hanshin Tigers
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
  • Matsuda family (the founding family of Mazda — about 60%); Mazda (34.2%); other minority shareholders
    • The "Toyo" name comes from the former corporate name of Mazda, Toyo Kogyo.
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
  • Senators (1946) – Did not use a corporate name. Owned by retired Japanese statesman Kinkazu Saionji.
  • Tokyu Flyers (1947) – Tokyu Corporation (100%)
  • Kyuei Flyers (1948) – Tokyu and Daiei (50-50)
  • Tokyu Flyers (1949–1953) – Tokyu (100%)
  • Toei Flyers (1954–1972) – Toei Company
  • Nittaku Home Flyers (1973) – Not directly owned by a corporation, but bore a corporate name nonetheless. The team was owned that season by Akitaka Nishimura, owner of Nittaku Home.
  • Nippon-Ham Fighters (1974–2003), Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters (2004–present) – Nippon Ham
Orix Buffaloes
Saitama Seibu Lions
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
Tokyo Yakult Swallows
  • Kokutetsu Swallows (1950–1965) – Japanese National Railways, known as Kokutetsu in Japanese
  • Sankei Swallows (brief period in 1965) – Sankei Shimbun
  • Sankei Atoms (1965–1968) – Sankei Shimbun
  • Atoms (1969) – Sankei Shimbun (chose to drop its corporate name from the team)
  • Yakult Atoms (1970–1973), Yakult Swallows (1974–2005), Tokyo Yakult Swallows (2006–present) – Yakult
Yokohama DeNA BayStars
  • Taiyō Whales (1950–52) – Taiyō Fishing Company (100%)
  • Taiyō-Shōchiku Robins (1953) – Taiyō and Shōchiku (50-50)
  • Yō-Shō Robins (1954) – Tai and Shōchiku (50-50)
  • Taiyō Whales (1954–1977), Yokohama Taiyō Whales (1978–1992) – Taiyō (100%)
  • Yokohama BayStars (1993–2011) – Taiyō changed its name to Maruha Corporation, and chose to drop its corporate name from the team.
  • Yokohama DeNA BayStars (2012–present) – DeNA
Yomiuri Giants

Basketball team owners

National Basketball Association owners

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
  • Red McCombs (1978–1985)
  • Sidney Shlenker (1985–1989)
  • Peter Bynoe, Bertram Lee, and Comsat Video Enterprises (1989–1997)
  • Liberty Media (1997–2000)
  • Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (2000–present)
    • Kroenke, previously a minority owner of the NFL's Rams, acquired full ownership in 2010. Under the NFL's cross-ownership rules, principal team owners are prohibited from owning controlling interests in teams in any other professional sport (except soccer) in a different NFL market. Since late 2010, his wife Ann Walton Kroenke has technically held a controlling interest in order to comply with these rules; their son Josh runs the team's day-to-day affairs.[6]
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
  • George Shinn (100%, 1988–2007; Charlotte/New Orleans Hornets)
  • George Shinn (75%) and Gary Chouest (25%) (2007–2010)
  • National Basketball Association (2010–2012) — The NBA purchased the team in December 2010 after a planned sale of Shinn's interest to Chouest fell through.
  • Tom Benson (2012–2018)[9]
  • Gayle Marie Benson (2018–present)
    • Gayle Benson is also the owner of the NFL's New Orleans Saints. The NFL's current ownership rules allow NFL team owners to own teams in other sports if the other team(s) are in the same media market. In 2013, Gayle's late predecessor and husband Tom Benson announced that the New Orleans Hornets would permanently change their team nickname to the Pelicans.
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
  • Herman Sarkowsky, Robert Schmertz, and Larry Weinberg (1970–1972)
  • Herman Sarkowsky & Larry Weinberg (1972–1975)
  • Larry Weinberg (1975–1988)
  • Paul Allen (1988–present)
    • Allen is the principal owner of the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. At the time he purchased the Seahawks in 1997, the NFL had a blanket prohibition of cross-ownership (apart from soccer), but the league soon modified the rule to allow NFL owners to own teams in other leagues under either of the following conditions:
      • The other team is in the same market as the owner's NFL team.
      • The other team is in a market without an NFL team, as is the case with Portland.
Sacramento Kings
  • Gregg Lukenbill and Joe Benvenuti (1985–1992)
  • Jim Thomas (1992–1999)
  • Maloof family (53%), Bob Hernreich (12%), and other minority investors (operated by George, Joe and Gavin Maloof) (1999–2013)
  • Vivek Ranadive (2013–present)
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
  • Sam Battistone (1974–1985), New Orleans/Utah Jazz
  • Sam Battistone and Larry Miller (50-50, 1985–1986)
  • Larry Miller (100%, 1986–2009)
  • Greg Miller and Gail Miller (2009–present)
Washington Wizards

National Basketball League (Australia) owners

Adelaide 36ers
  • Grant Kelley (March 2017–present)
Illawarra Hawks
  • Simon Stratford
Perth Wildcats

Gridiron football franchise owners

National Football League owners

Arizona Cardinals
  • Chris O'Brien (1898–1929) — Morgan Athletic Club (Chicago, 1898–1899?), Racine Normals (still in Chicago, 1899?–1901), Racine Cardinals (1901–1921), Chicago Cardinals (1922–1929)
  • Dr. David Jones (1929–1933)
  • Charles Bidwill (1933–1947)
  • Violet Bidwill Wolfner (1947–1962) — Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals
  • Bill Bidwill and Charles Bidwill, Jr. (1962–1972)
  • Bill Bidwill (1972–present) — St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Baltimore Ravens
Buffalo Bills
Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
  • The Brown family:
    • Paul (1968–1991)
    • Mike (1991–present)
Cleveland Browns
Dallas Cowboys
Denver Broncos
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
  • Carroll Rosenbloom (1953–1972)
  • The Irsay family (1972–present)
    • Robert (1972–1997) — Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts
    • Jim (1997–present)
Jacksonville Jaguars
Kansas City Chiefs
  • The Hunt family (1959–present)
    • Lamar (1960–2006) — Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs
    • Family, led by son Clark (2006–present)
Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
Minnesota Vikings
  • Bill Boyer, H. P. Skoglund, Max Winter, Bernie Ridder, and Ole Haugsrud (1960–1973)
  • Skoglund, Winter, Ridder, Haugsrud and Boyer family (1973–1976)
  • Skoglund, Winter, Ridder, and Boyer family (1976–1977)
  • Winter, Skoglund family and Boyer family (1977–1988)
  • Skoglund family, Winter, Boyer family, Carl Pohlad, and Irwin Jacobs (1988–1991)
  • Roger Headrick and nine equal partners (1991–1998)
  • Red McCombs (1998–2005)
  • Zygi Wilf and family, (2005–present)
New England Patriots
New Orleans Saints
New York Giants
  • The Mara Family (1925–present; 100 percent ownership, 1925–1991, 50 percent ownership since 1991)
  • The Tisch Family (1991–present; 50 percent ownership)
New York Jets
  • Harry Wismer (1959–1963) — New York Titans
  • Sonny Werblin, Leon Hess, Donald C. Lillis, Townsend B. Martin, Philip H. Iselin (1963–1968)
  • Leon Hess, Donald C. Lillis, Townsend B. Martin, Philip H. Iselin (1968)
  • Leon Hess, Townsend B. Martin, Philip H. Iselin (1968–1976)
  • Leon Hess, Townsend B. Martin (1976–1981)
  • Leon Hess (1981–1999)
  • Estate of Leon Hess (1999–2000)
  • Woody Johnson (2000–present)
Oakland Raiders
  • Limited partnership led by Y. Charles (Chet) Soda (1959–1960)
  • F. Wayne Valley and Ed McGah (1961–1966)
  • Valley, McGah and Al Davis (1966–1976)
  • Al Davis and McGah (1976–1983) – Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders
  • Al Davis (1983–2011) — Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
  • Mark and Carol Davis (2011–present)

Note: This list reflects the actual control of the franchise. The ownership structure is considerably more complicated. Notably, it was reported that Al Davis owned only a 47% stake in the team when he died in 2011, although he exercised near-total control as the president of the team's general partner. His widow Carol and son Mark inherited his interest in the team, with Mark exercising day-to-day control. See the relevant section of the team article for more details.

Philadelphia Eagles
Pittsburgh Steelers
San Francisco 49ers
  • Tony Morabito, Victor Morabito, Allen E. Sorrell and E.J. Turre (1946)
  • Tony and Victor Morabito (1947–1953)
  • Morabito, Morabito, and Al Ruffo (1953–1957)
  • Josephine Morabito, Victor Morabito, and Ruffo (1957–1964)
  • Josephine Morabito, Elizabeth Morabito, and Ruffo (1964–1977)
  • Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. and Denise DeBartolo York (1977–2000)
  • Denise DeBartolo York and John York (2000–present)
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tennessee Titans
  • Kenneth S. Adams, Jr. family (1959–present)
    • Kenneth S., Jr. (Bud) (1959–2013) — Houston/Tennessee Oilers, Tennessee Titans
    • Thomas and Susie Smith (son-in-law and daughter), 2013–present
    • Amy Hunt (daughter), 2013–present
    • Kenneth S., IV (grandson), 2013–present
Washington Redskins

Canadian Football League owners

BC Lions
Calgary Stampeders
Edmonton Eskimos
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Montreal Alouettes
Ottawa Redblacks
  • Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group
    (Jeff Hunt, chairman) (2012–present)
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Toronto Argonauts
Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Hockey franchise owners

National Hockey League owners

Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
  • Bob Naegele, Jr. 1997–2008
  • Craig Leipold 2008–present
Montreal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
San Jose Sharks
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets

Rugby League Football club owners

National Rugby League owners

Brisbane Broncos
Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights
South Sydney Rabbitohs

Super League owners

Rugby Union Football club owners

Aviva Premiership (England)

Bath
Bristol
Gloucester
  • Owned by a large number of investors until 1997
  • Tom Walkinshaw (1997–2010)
    • Martin St Quinton (minority interest, 2008–2016)
  • Ryan Walkinshaw (majority interest, December 2010–February 2016)
  • Martin St Quinton (majority interest, February 2016–present)
Newcastle Falcons
  • John Hall (1996–1999)
  • Dave Thompson (1999–present)
Sale Sharks
Wasps
  • Steve Hayes (??–2013)
  • Derek Richardson and minority investors (2013–present)

Guinness Pro14

Aironi (operated from 2010–12; now defunct)
Benetton Rugby
Cardiff Blues
Cheetahs (joined in 2017)
  • Free State Rugby Union
Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster
  • All are owned and operated by the respective provincial branches of the Irish Rugby Football Union, the sport's governing body throughout the island of Ireland.
Dragons
Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors
Ospreys
Scarlets
Southern Kings (joined in 2017)
  • Eastern Province Rugby Union
Zebre (took Aironi's place in the league in 2012)

Top 14 and Pro D2 (France)

Brive
  • Daniel Derichebourg[16]
    • Derichebourg has put the club up for sale.
Castres
Montpellier
Perpignan
Racing 92
  • Jacky Lorenzetti[19]
Stade Français
Toulon

Cricket club Owners

India

Indian Premier League owners

Kolkata Knight Riders
Chennai Super Kings
  • Varun Manian (India Cements)
Delhi Daredevils
Kings XI Punjab
Mumbai Indians
Rajasthan Royals
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sunrisers Hyderabad

References

  1. "Aaron Cushman". http://media.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  2. Futterman, Matthew (March 29, 2012). "$2 Billion Dodgers Price Tag Shatters Records". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  3. "Yankees Timeline". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2007-06-18. May 21, 1922: Col. Ruppert buys out Col. Huston for $1.5 million.
  4. "Celtics' owner dispute is more confused than ever". The Tuscaloosa News. July 22, 1974. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  5. "New Owner But Red Is Still Boss of Celts". Lewiston Evening Journal. Jan 14, 1975. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  6. 1 2 "Kroenke designs 2-team L.A. stadium". ESPN.com. March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Magic Johnson sells Lakers shares". ESPN.com. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2010-10-19.
  8. Shelburne, Ramona (February 19, 2013). "Jerry Buss: A true sports visionary". ESPNLosAngeles.com. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  9. "Tom Benson agrees to buy Hornets". ESPN.com. April 14, 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  10. "N.B.A. Orlando Team Sold". New York Times. September 20, 1991. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  11. Yasinskas, Pat (2009-12-17). "Dunn to own piece of Falcons". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2009-12-17.
  12. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_6010504,00.html Archived 2011-09-26 at the Wayback Machine.
  13. http://rugby1823.blogosfere.it/2010/06/super-10-e-alla-fine-fu-granducato-parma-rugby.html
  14. http://www.sportparma.com/rugby_sport_parma/5924-Rugby-Parma-Noceto-storia-infinita.html
  15. http://guide.supereva.it/rugby/interventi/2010/06/la-fusione-tra-rugby-parma-e-noceto-sintomo-di-unepoca
  16. 1 2 3 Moriarty, Ian (2009-11-11). "French rugby heading for crisis". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  17. Moriarty, Ian (2013-05-30). "Wilko and Toulon target rare double". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 2013-05-30.
  18. "Montpellier Herault Rugby". Altrad Group. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
  19. Moriarty, Ian (2010-07-06). "Time to hit the panic button?". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  20. "Stade Francais secure top flight status". ESPN Scrum. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
  21. Coudry, Arnaud (24 May 2017). "Savare a tranché : Wild sera le nouveau propriétaire du Stade Français" [Savare has decided: Wild will be the new owner of Stade Français]. Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 26 August 2017.
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