The sports world has a Black ownership problem. With Michael Jordan selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, there are no majority Black owners of a major sports franchise.
While some are “claiming” to fix the problem, it’s an issue that represents the racial wealth gap in this country. Despite the Black ownership issue, there are quite a few Black celebs who have minority stakes in franchises. Let’s go down the list:
Michael Jordan was the only Black majority owner of a major sports franchise for a long time. He bought the Charlotte Hornets in 2010, but in June, he sold the team for more than $3 billion. But he still has a minority stake in the team.
Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett, purchased a minority stake in his hometown team in 2011. It only makes sense, Will is a Philly guy through and through so it makes sense he would represent the home team.
Despite still playing in the NBA, LeBron has multiple investments in professional sports teams. Two years ago, he became a minority owner of the Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox. In 2011, he also bought a small stake in Liverpool F.C., one of the most popular soccer clubs in the world. But despite his investments up to this point, he still has plans to own an NBA franchise.
If you’re wondering why Usher of all people is at a Cleveland Cavaliers game, it’s because he’s been a part-owner of the team since 2005. He celebrated the 2016 championship like he was on the team.
You know the group Michael Jordan sold the Charlotte Hornets to? J. Cole was a part of that group. He’s now following in Will Smith’s footsteps, investing in his hometown team.
Venus and Serena Williams both purchased a stake in the Miami Dolphins back in 2009. They were the first Black women to partly own an NFL team. Serena and her daughter, Olympia, are also co-owners of the Los Angeles Golf Club.
Magic Johnson is part owner of multiple sports franchises. He’s part of the new group that recently bought the Washington Commanders. He also co-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Los Angeles Sparks, and the Los Angeles Football Club.
Nelly decided to take his money outside of his hometown of St. Louis, Mo., and move it to Charlotte, where he’s a part-owner of the Hornets.
Who knew? Michelle Williams doesn’t just sing, she has a good business sense too. She took it back home, buying a stake in the Chicago Sky in 2006.
Michael B. Jordan took it international, buying a stake in AFC Bournemouth, an English football club competing in the Premier League.
After retiring from the NBA, Wade decided to stay close to the league, buying a minority stake in the Utah Jazz. You can catch him on the sideline of some games in Salt Lake City.
Grant Hill still looks like he can still play in the NBA. But he’s settled for being on the business side of things, buying equity of the Hawks in 2015.
Former WNBA player Renee Montogmery is a two-time WNBA champion who decided to take her talents straight to the ownership level once she retired in 2019. She’s currently an investor in the Atlanta Dream and the FCF Beats, an indoor football team.
She’s known as the co-founder of BET, but she also has her hands in many professional sports franchises including the Washington Capitals, the Washington Wizards, and the Washington Mystics.
Although Russell Wilson and Ciara have moved to Denver, they still have a close connection to the Seattle area. They both purchased a stake in the Seattle Sounders FC in 2019.