NFL legend Tom Brady attends first game after becoming co-owner of English soccer club, more stars who own sports teams
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Retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady became a minority owner in Birmingham City, an English soccer club, in August 2023 after entering into a partnership with U.S.-based Knighthead Capital Management, which completed its takeover of Birmingham City the previous month. The seven-time Super Bowl champ — seen here attending his first Birmingham City game at St. Andrew’s stadium on Aug. 12, 2023 — is not just a co-owner but also chair of the team’s advisory board.
Tom, however, is hardly the only star who’s opened his wallet for a sports team…
Keep reading to see more stars who own sports franchises…
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Game on! Michael Jordan bought the majority ownership stake of the Charlotte Hornets team in 2010 for $275 million. In June 2023, he sold his majority stake for $3 billion, according to reports. The much-richer hoops GOAT — who’s the subject of the 2023 movie “Air” — now owns a minority stake in the NBA franchise.
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Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are known primarily for being actors, but back in 2021, the pals decided to dip their toe into a different arena: The Hollywood stars bought struggling soccer team Wrexham AFC, the oldest soccer club in Wales, for a reported $2 million. “We don’t know anything about running a football club,” Ryan admitted to Men’s Health, but he and the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” actor dove in and learned.
Two years later in April 2023, a Wrexham home-field victory clinched the National League championship with a 3-1 victory against visiting Boreham Wood — securing their promotion to the next tier in British football, League Two — the English Football League, for the next season. (Wrexham hasn’t played in that high a tier in 15 years.) “Everything I own smells like champagne, beer and grass. I’m still somewhere between giggling and sobbing. This town and this sport is one of the most romantic things on earth. Thank you, @Wrexham_AFC,” a joyful Ryan captioned a series of photos of the celebrations on Twitter.
Fans of the actors — and of Wrexham — got to witness much of the rebuilding journey in the 2022 FX docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham,” which chronicles the actors’ ownership of the then-fifth-tier Red Dragons.
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Marc Anthony and then-wife Jennifer Lopez became minority owners in the Miami Dolphins in 2009. When they divorced a few years later, J.Lo’s shares were transferred to her ex’s name. (Fun fact: Fergie, Gloria Estefan and Venus Williams and Serena Williams are also minority owners of the NFL team.) J.Lo and former love Alex Rodriguez made an attempt to become owners of the New York Mets, but the finance group they put together dropped out after billionaire Steve Cohen was granted exclusive negotiation rights. He soon bought the baseball team for a record $2.4 billion.
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Back in 2005, Usher reportedly invested $9 million to acquire part of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He even celebrated with the team on the court after it won the NBA Finals in 2016. “I know I have the talent to entertain,” he told Forbes shortly after acquiring his stake. “Now I just want to be a great businessman.”
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Angel City FC of the National Women’s Soccer League might have the most star-studded investment group of all time. Natalie Portman was among the founders of the team that first took the field in April 2022. Since then, a never-ending cascade of celebrities have joined the ownership group as investors including Eva Longoria, Gabrielle Union, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Garner, Uzo Aduba, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Becky G, Sophia Bush and James Corden. A trove of well-known athletes are also apart of the ownership group including Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Shawn Johnson, Candace Parker, P.K. Subban and Lindsey Vonn.
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Bill Maher was once a minority owner of the New York Mets, as he was part of an investment group that paid $20 million for a small stake in 2012. According to reports, the HBO host tripled his money when Steve Cohen purchased the baseball team for $2.4 billion in 2020.
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David Beckham has gone from superstar soccer player to superstar soccer owner. Back in 2018, Miami was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise, and David was a major part of the ownership group. He’s a co-owner of the team along with two others. It’s not known how much of the squad David owns, but he increased his ownership stake in 2021.
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In 2008, music star Michael Bublé was named a minority owner of the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. A fanatic about his team, Michael has often spoken about the squad in media interviews. His team was actually in the WHL playoffs in 2022, but Michael had committed to presenting at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas so couldn’t cheer them on in person. “I will have my phone and I will be listening to the play-by-play,” he told Global News Morning. Of his ownership, he once told The Hockey News, “I have no intention of being a mascot, understand? I don’t want to talk about other celebrities in other sports, but… If I do this, it is because I really love the game, I love the business and I want to be a part of that. I don’t need to be a mascot sitting in the seats.”
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Back in 2011, Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith bought a minority stake in the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team. There have been reports that the duo owns the majority stake in the company, but those rumors have been proven false.
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We don’t often associate Elton John with sports, but the Rocketman is a huge soccer fan and a former club owner. Back in 1976, Elton bought an ownership stake in Watford F.C. Although he sold his shares in 2006, he’s regarded as Watford’s “Honorary Life President.”
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The price was right for Drew Carey to join an ownership group of the Seattle Sounders FC expansion club in 2007. The comedian has never said how much of the soccer team he owns, but once noted that his stake is “large enough to have a voice but not enough to have final say.” (Reports claim he owns 7.5% of the team.) Other part-owners of the Sounders: Russell Wilson, Ciara and Macklemore.
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Don’t accuse Bill Murray of being a lackluster baseball fan. Often seen at Chicago Cubs games, the actor is part owner of multiple minor league baseball teams including the St. Paul Saints, the Charleston RiverDogs, the Hudson Valley Renegades and the Brockton Rox.
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It’s called Rahal Letterman Racing for a reason. In 1997, David Letterman purchased a stake in Bobby Rahal’s racing team. Bobby is a former Indianapolis 500 winner. Dave is from Indiana, where racing and basketball are basically a religion.
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After he and then-fiancé Jennifer Lopez failed to buy the Mets, Alex Rodriguez bought an ownership stake in two franchises. Sports Illustrated reported that A-Rod and a business partner agreed to a $1.5 billion deal to purchase the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in 2021. Per the deal, the two men will be controlling owners in 2023.
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There was a time when George W. Bush was a fixture at Texas Rangers games. The reason: He was not only a fan of the team but a part-owner and managing general partner for five years. W. sold his shares — reportedly for $15 million — in 1998 before running for president. His initial investment in the MLB team was said to be $800,000.
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JAY-Z once famously owned a percentage of the Brooklyn Nets NBA team, but he had to sell his stake in 2013 after becoming a sports agent with Roc Nation Sports.
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Rock star Jon Bon Jovi was a co-majority owner of the Philadelphia Soul, an arena football team, from 2004 to 2008. The AFL franchise won the league championship in 2008. Bandmate Richie Sambora was a minority owner.
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Justin Timberlake became a part owner of the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team after joining the Tennman Group LLC in 2012. According to Yahoo!, JT paid $5 million for a 2.84% ownership stake in the team.
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Before Michael Jordan took over as owner of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010, Nelly had a say in the club: The rapper had a stake in the NBA team from 2004 to 2010.
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Michelle Williams will always be known for being a member of Destiny’s Child, but she’s known as a boss in Chicago. In 2006, the singer was announced as a minority owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
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