Top 10 Richest Sports Team Owners

Major professional sports franchises don’t come up for sale very often, but when they do, only the very, very rich need apply.

The ranks of pro sports ownership is poised to gain another billionaire when the sale of the Denver Broncos of the National Football League is finalized to Rob Walton, one of the heirs to the Walmart fortune and one of the 25-richest people in the world, according to Forbes. The trust that owns the Broncos agreed on June 8 to sell the Broncos to Walton for $4.65 billion.

Before the team changes hands, the NFL’s finance committee must recommend the sale to other NFL team owners, and at least 24 of the 32 owners must vote to accept Walton. Approval is considered a formality and is expected before the start of the 2022 NFL season in September. When approved, Walton – who is worth nearly $60 billion – will become the richest owner in the NFL.

But who is the richest owner in American team sports? To find the answer, GOBankingRates turned to Forbes and other reliable sources of information to determine the 10 owners with the highest net worth.

• Net worth: $10.7 billion
• Team value: $1.725 billion (Nuggets)/$4.8 billion (Rams)
• Team purchase price: $202 million (Nuggets)/$750 million (Rams)
• Year purchased: 2000 (Nuggets)/2010 (Rams)

• Net worth: $10.7 billion
• Team value: $1.025 billion
• Team purchase price: $113.3 million
• Year purchased: 1995

• Net worth: $11.4 billion
• Team value: $6.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $150 million
• Year purchased: 1989

• Net worth: $14.5 billion
• Team value: $1.5 billion
• Team purchase price: $377 million
• Year purchased: 2012

• Net worth: $16 billion
• Team value: $1.65 billion
• Team purchase price: $375 million
• Year purchased: 2005

• Net worth: $16.7 billion
• Team value: $2.91 billion
• Team purchase price: $2.3 billion
• Year purchased: 2018

• Net worth: $17.4 billion
• Team value: $2.65 billion
• Team purchase price: $2.4 billion
• Year purchased: 2020

• Net worth: $20.3 billion
• Team value: $2.05 billion (Trail Blazers)/$3.5 billion (Seahawks)
• Team purchase price: $70 million (Trail Blazers)/$194 million (Seahawks)
• Year purchased: 1988 (Trail Blazers)/1997 (Seahawks)

• Net worth: $57.3 billion
• Team value: $3.75 billion
• Team purchase price: $4.65 billion
• Year purchased: 2022

• Net worth: $84.2 billion
• Team value: $3.3 billion
• Team purchase price: $2 billion
• Year purchased: 2014

Methodology: To find the richest owners in professional sports, GOBankingRates began by referencing Forbes’ most recent Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, National Football League and National Basketball Association team valuations. GOBankingRates used Forbes’ data to find the (1) notable owners, (2) 2021/22 team value, (3) purchase price and (4) year of purchase for every team in all four leagues analyzed. Then, GOBankingRates used a variety of sources (primarily Forbes, Celebrity Net Worth and the Los Angeles Times) to find (5) each owner’s net worth. Corporate entities and team owners with no reliable net worth information available were excluded from the final ranking. All data up to date as of June 22, 2022.