Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney buy a Welsh soccer club, plus more celebrities who own sports teams | Gallery
11:00 a.m. PDT, Aug. 23, 2022
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Continue to play! Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are primarily known as actors, but in 2021 the pals decided to dip their toe into another arena: the Hollywood stars bought ailing football team Wrexham AFC, the oldest football 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 dived in and learned. Fans of the actors will soon see them trying to manage a football team when FX releases “Welcome to Wrexham,” a docuseries about the actors’ ownership of the fifth-rate Red Dragons on August 24, 2022. But Ryan and Rob are far from the only Hollywood stars who have opened their wallets to a sports team…
Read on to see what other stars own sports franchises…
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Marc Anthony and his then-wife Jennifer Lopez became minority owners of 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 his former love Alex Rodriguez tried to own the New York Mets, but the financial group put them out together, after billionaire Steve Cohen was granted exclusive negotiating rights. He soon bought the baseball team for a record $2.4 billion.
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In 2005, Usher reportedly invested $9 million to acquire part of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He even celebrated with the team on court after they won the 2016 NBA Finals. “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 could have the most star-studded investment group ever. Natalie Portman was among the founders of the team that first took the field in April 2022. Since then, an endless 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. The ownership group also includes a number of well-known athletes, including Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Shawn Johnson, Candace Parker, PK 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. The HBO host reportedly tripled his money when Steve Cohen bought the baseball team for $2.4 billion in 2020.
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David Beckham has gone from superstar football player to superstar football owner. In 2018, Miami was awarded a Major League Soccer franchise and David was a key part of the ownership group. He is co-owner of the team along with two others. It is unknown how much of the squad David owns, but he increased his stake in 2021.
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In 2008, music star Michael Bublé was named a minority owner of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants. A fanatic of 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 signed up to present at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, so he couldn’t personally cheer for them. “I’ll have my phone and listen to play-by-play,” he told Global News Morning. Of his possessions, 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, it’s because I really love the game, I love the business and I want to be a part of it. I don’t have to be a mascot sitting in the seats.”
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In 2011, Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith bought a minority stake in the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team. There have been reports that the duo own 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 football fan and former club owner. Already in 1976 Elton acquired a stake in Watford FC. Although he sold his shares in 2006, he is considered Watford’s “honorary president for life”.
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The price was right for Drew Carey to join an ownership group of expansion club Seattle Sounders FC in 2007. The comedian has never said how much of the football team he owns, but once noted that his stake “is big enough to have a voice but not enough to have the final say.” (He reportedly owns 7 .5% of team.) Other co-owners of the Sounders: Russell Wilson, Ciara and Macklemore.
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Don’t accuse Bill Murray of being a lackluster baseball fan. The actor, who is often seen at Chicago Cubs games, is a part owner of several 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 not called Rahal Letterman Racing for nothing. In 1997, David Letterman acquired an interest in Bobby Rahal’s racing team. Bobby is a former Indianapolis 500 winner. Dave is from Indiana, where racing and basketball are essentially a religion.
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After he and then-fiancé Jennifer Lopez failed to buy the Mets, Alex Rodriguez acquired an interest in two franchises. Sports Illustrated reported that A-Rod and a business partner have agreed to a $1.5 billion deal to purchase the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in 2021. According to the deal, the two men will be the 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 also a partner 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 is said to have been $800,000.
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JAY-Z once owned a percentage of NBA team Brooklyn Nets, but he was forced to sell his stake in 2013 after becoming a sports agent at Roc Nation Sports.
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Rock star Jon Bon Jovi co-owned 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 co-owner of the Memphis Grizzlies basketball team after joining Tennman Group LLC in 2012. According to Yahoo! paid JT $5 million for a 2.84 percent stake in the team.
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Before Michael Jordan took over the ownership of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010, Nelly had a say in the club: the rapper was involved with the NBA team from 2004 to 2010.
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Michelle Williams will always be known as a member of Destiny’s Child, but she is best known as the boss in Chicago. In 2006, the singer was announced as the minority owner of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
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