List of professional sports team owners

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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

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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–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

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Ligue 1 owners

Football Club des Girondins de Bordeaux
En Avant de Guingamp
LOSC Lille
Football Club de Lorient
Olympique lyonnais
Olympique de Marseille
Association sportive Monaco Football Club
Montpellier Hérault Sport Club
Paris Saint-Germain
Football Club de Nantes
Stade rennais football club
Toulouse Football Club

USA

Major League Soccer owners

Chicago Fire
Chivas USA
Colorado Rapids
Columbus Crew
  • Lamar Hunt - (1995–2006)
  • Clark Hunt - (2006–2013)
  • Anthony Precourt (Precourt Sports Ventures LLC) - (2013–Present)
D.C. United
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo
Los Angeles Galaxy
Montreal Impact
New England Revolution
New York City FC
New York Red Bulls
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
San Jose Earthquakes
Seattle Sounders FC
Sporting Kansas City
Toronto FC
Vancouver Whitecaps FC

North American Soccer League owners

Current Clubs
Atlanta Silverbacks
  • Majority Owner
    Traffic Sports USA - (2010-2013)
    Minority Owners
    Boris Jerkunica and John Latham - (2010-2013)
  • Henry Hardin & John Hardin (50%) and Boris Jerkunica and John Latham (50%) - (2013–Present) [1][2]
Carolina RailHawks
FC Edmonton
  • Dave Fath and Tom Fath - (2010–Present)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
Indy Eleven
  • Ersal Ozdemir - (2013–Present)
Jacksonville Armada FC
  • Sunshine Soccer Group (Majority Owner: Mark Frisch) - (2013–Present) [4]
Minnesota United FC
  • North American Soccer League team owners - (2010-2012)
  • Bill McGuire - (2012–Present)
New York Cosmos
  • New York Cosmos LLC - (2012–Present)
Ottawa Fury FC
  • Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG) - (2011–Present)
Tampa Bay Rowdies
  • Majority Owner
    Bill Edwards - (2013–Present)
    Minority Owners
    Andrew Nestor and David Laxer - (2009–Present) [5]
Planned Expansion Clubs
Miami FC
Rayo OKC

Italian Serie A owners

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Greek Superleague owners

Olympiacos Piraeus
Panathinaikos FC
Panionios

Auto racing owners & team principals

Formula One team principals

(Listed by Constructor)

Caterham F1
Ferrari
Force India-Ferrari
Lotus F1
Marussia F1
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
CFH Racing
  • Sarah Fisher - (2008–12 as Sarah Fisher Racing; 2013-14 as Fisher Hartman Racing; 2015–present)
  • Ed Carpenter - (2011–14 as Ed Carpenter Racing; 2015–present)
  • Tony George - (2011–14 as Ed Carpenter Racing; 2015–present)
  • Wink Hartman - (2013–14 as Fisher Hartman Racing; 2015–present)
Chip Ganassi Racing
Dale Coyne Racing
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
  • Dennis Reinbold - (2000–present)
  • Robbie Buhl - (2000–present)
KV Racing Technology
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Team Penske

NASCAR Sprint Cup 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
Hendrick Motorsports
HScott Motorsports
  • James Finch - (1990-2013)
  • Harry Scott Jr. - (2013–present)
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)
Michael Waltrip Racing
Penske Racing
Richard Childress Racing
Richard Petty Motorsports
Roush Fenway Racing
Swan Racing
Stewart Haas Racing
Tommy Baldwin 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)
  • Stan Kroenke (2000–present)
    • Kroenke, previously a minority owner of the NFL's St. Louis 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 son Josh Kroenke has technically held a controlling interest in order to comply with these rules.[13]
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–present)[16]
    • 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, 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
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

Gridiron football franchise owners

National Football League owners

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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, later 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)
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
  • The Rooney family:
    • Art (1933–1988)
    • Dan (1988–present)
St. Louis Rams
San Diego Chargers
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

Hockey franchise owners

National Hockey League owners

Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
  • Charlie Lyons – 1995–2000
  • E. Stanley Kroenke – 2000–present
    • As noted in the NBA section, Kroenke has technically transferred a controlling interest in the Avalanche to his son Josh Kroenke in order to comply with NFL cross-ownership rules.[13]
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
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
  • Sid Salomon, Jr., Sid Salomon III, and Robert Wolfson – 1967–1977
  • Ralston Purina – 1977–1983
  • Harry Ornest – 1983–1986
  • Michael Shanahan, Sr. – 1986–1999
  • Bill Laurie and Nancy Walton Laurie – 1999–2005
  • Dave Checketts – 2005–2012
  • Tom Stillman 2012-present
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets

Rugby Football club owners

Aviva Premiership (England)

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

National Rugby League

Brisbane Broncos
Melbourne Storm
Newcastle Knights
South Sydney Rabbitohs

Guinness Pro12

Aironi (operated from 2010–12; now defunct)
Benetton Treviso
Cardiff Blues
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.
Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors
Newport Gwent Dragons
Ospreys
Scarlets
Zebre (took Aironi's place in the league in 2012)

Top 14 and Pro D2 (France)

Brive
  • Daniel Derichebourg[23]
    • Derichebourg has put the club up for sale.
Castres
Montpellier
Perpignan
Racing 92
  • Jacky Lorenzetti[26]
Stade Français
  • Max Guazzini (majority owner, 1992–June 2011); unknown percentage also owned by Christophe Dominici in the last years of Guazzini's ownership
  • Jean-Pierre Savare (majority owner, June 2011–)[27]
Toulon

Cricket club Owners

India

Indian Premier League owners

Kolkata Knight Riders
Chennai Super Kings
Delhi Daredevils
Kings XI Punjab
Mumbai Indians
Rajasthan Royals
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Sunrisers Hyderabad

References

  1. http://www.nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=6060
  2. http://www.ajc.com/news/sports/silverbacks-have-new-owners/ncP4Y/
  3. http://www.nasl.com/news/2015/10/30/local-technology-entrepreneur-purchases-carolina-railhawks
  4. http://www.nasl.com/index.php?id=3&newsid=5055
  5. http://rowdiessoccer.com/index.php?id=52&newsid=6027
  6. http://www.nasl.com/news/2015/05/20/miami-fc-becomes-12th-nasl-club
  7. http://www.nasl.com/news/2015/11/10/la-ligas-rayo-vallecano-and-local-buisnessman-team-up-to-bring-nasl-club-to-oklahoma-city
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  19. http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_6010504,00.html
  20. http://rugby1823.blogosfere.it/2010/06/super-10-e-alla-fine-fu-granducato-parma-rugby.html
  21. http://www.sportparma.com/rugby_sport_parma/5924-Rugby-Parma-Noceto-storia-infinita.html
  22. http://guide.supereva.it/rugby/interventi/2010/06/la-fusione-tra-rugby-parma-e-noceto-sintomo-di-unepoca
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