Travis Kelce has become the latest athlete to buy into a professional sports team, purchasing a minority stake in the Cleveland Guardians, the MLB franchise he rooted for growing up in Cleveland Heights, a vibrant suburb 15 minutes from downtown.
Ballplayers buying into professional sports franchises has become almost routine. And why not? They are wealthy, love sports and often want an ownership stake of a team in a city full of fans who love them back.
Kelce is the latest to do so. The only question is, what took him so long?
“I have so much love for this city,” Kelce told ESPN. “I say it all the time: I’m just a kid from the Heights living the dream. I credit every good thing in my life to Cleveland and being raised here with the values and the people and the work ethic.
“Cleveland Heights is such a diverse and dynamic place. Every friend, neighbor, teacher and teammate — they all made me the man I am today.”
And that man is very wealthy. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end and burgeoning business titan has earned $111 million playing in the NFL. He and his brother Jason have a $100 million deal with Amazon Wondery for their popular New Heights podcast.
Kelce, 36, also makes an estimated $35 million a year from endorsement deals with Nike, Pfizer, State Farm and other major brands.
Oh, and let’s not forget that his fiancee, Taylor Swift, is the wealthiest female musician in the world with an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.
Although Swift has never publicly mentioned owning a sports franchise, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell did comment on the possibility at a Super Bowl news conference two years ago.
Tom Brady had been approved as part owner of the Raiders, boosting season ticket sales, leading to this question posed to Goodell.
“With that, has anyone approached Taylor Swift about being a minority partner in the Chiefs?”
Goodell grinned and replied, “I really don’t know the answer to that one. If she’s interested, she has the ability to do it, let’s put it that way.”
The list of athletes who own a piece of sports franchises is long. Begin with Magic Johnson and Billie Jean King, part of the group that owns the Dodgers and Sparks. Kelce’s Chiefs passing partner Patrick Mahomes has been a minority owner of the Kansas City Royals since 2020.
Tennis superstar sisters Venus and Serena Williams became the first black women to hold a stake in an NFL team when they became minority owners of the Miami Dolphins in 2009.
Giannis Antetokounmpo expressed his love for Milwaukee by purchasing a stake in the Brewers baseball team. The Lakers are rumored to possibly trade for the Milwaukee Bucks superstar this offseason. Would that make Antetokounmpo a candidate to take the Angels off the hands of Arte Moreno, who at games has been blistered by a large group of shirtless fans chanting “sell the team?”
Because he is an investor in the Fenway Sports Group, Lakers star LeBron Jamesowns a piece of the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins and RFK Racing. The 41-year-old veteran of 23 NBA seasons makes no secret that he someday wants to own an NBA team.
“I got so much to give to the game. I know what it takes to win at this level. I know talent,” James said in 2021. “I also know how to run a business as well. And so, that is my goal. My goal is to own an NBA franchise.”
James is the first active NBA player to achieve billionaire status, and his estimated net worth of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion puts him in Swift territory. He might not need to preface his ownership stake with the word minority.
Kelce, meanwhile, is happy for now to own just a piece of the Guardians, whose value has risen from $1 billion four years ago to $1.7 billion today. “I’ve been lucky enough to have a front-row seat to good ownership in my career, and I know the best teams prioritize culture,” Kelce said. “Everyone is there to play their role, and right now, I’m here to observe and learn and really to support the team and the city when and where I can.”
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