Longtime Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has purchased a minority stake in his hometown club, the Cleveland Guardians, per a team announcement. It’s not clear how large a stake he purchased. He’s reportedly earned more than $111MM in career salary with the Chiefs, to say nothing of other revenue streams (e.g. endorsements, podcast).
“I have so much love for this city,” Kelce tells ESPN’s Jeff Passan. “I say it all the time: I’m just a kid from the Heights living the dream. I credit every good thing in my life to Cleveland and being raised here with the values and the people and the work ethic. Cleveland Heights is such a diverse and dynamic place. Every friend, neighbor, teacher and teammate — they all made me the man I am today. It just fueled such a deep appreciation for life and community and service. … There was nothing like Cleveland baseball in the ’90s. That’s just a core memory for me. Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Jim Thome, Sandy Alomar Jr., the list goes on, and I admire how they just continue to pour into this city and this game.”
The Dolan family still holds the majority stake in the team. The late Larry Dolan purchased the club for a reported $323MM back in 2000. Recent estimates have pegged the Guardians’ present-day franchise value at more than five times that sum.
Larry Dolan passed away at 94 years of age in Feb. 2025. His son, Paul, had succeeded him as the team’s official control person back in 2013 and remains the team’s chairman and chief executive officer. However, in 2022, the Dolan family agreed to sell a 25-30% stake in the team to David Blitzer, the managing partner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils. Blitzer also has minority stakes in the NFL’s Washington Commanders and in Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake. His 2022 deal with the Dolan family also came with the option to purchase a majority stake of the club in 2028.
Kelce, 37 in October, is an 11-time Pro Bowler with three Super Bowl rings. He ranks third all-time among tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards and is fifth all-time in touchdowns at his position. His stake isn’t likely to be a significant one, though it’s always feasible that he seeks to increase his share at some point down the road. Kelce’s teammate and fellow three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes can now formally be on opposite ends of an American League Central rivalry; Mahomes purchased a minority stake in the Royals back in 2020.
Please don’t turn baseball into the Taylor Swift show too.
We’ll gladly accept any financial support she’d like to offer
Somehow you guys do good even without any financial support this years team is somehow one of the best in the AL you never expect it but it always happens.
Thin was my first thought. Bree Delio is already wrecking baseball with her being a “fan” of the Tigers, Cubs, Dodgers, Mets and Phillies. Probably more.
Might have got her name wrong.
It seemed like it helped the NFL more than it hurt it.
You mean showing her on TV for 30-45 seconds every game???
The horror. I want more Kalshi and BetMGM ads
I don’t care for either Kelce nor Swift but it’s good for the game to have familiar faces to connect with younger fans.
“i mean it’s one guardian, travis, how much could it cost?”
Interesting investment. With the way valuations have been increasing, it is a nice way to grow wealth for the long term. I wonder if he has aspirations to be the managing partner in the future.
Doubt that. He doesn’t have enough cash to be the managing partner. Blitzer will be the guy. He probably bought a 1-2% stake. Just about no shot a majority owner is going to let a guy with a very small stake in the team be the managing partner.
He’d need T swift’s money to get a substantial piece of the club.
she literally wrote a song about how she enjoys a particular part of him so I’m guessing he’s got the go to spend some of her money
It’s nice that Taylor lets him have hobbies.
“He’s reportedly earned more than $111MM in career salary with the Chiefs, to say nothing of other revenue streams (e.g. endorsements, podcast).”
Yeah, those other revenue streams are funding him, not his main source of income…err, sorry, not his fiancée.
If he has a good tax accountant, Travis has probably brought home $60M of the $111M of his gross pay after taxes. Even if he has lived 100% off of endorsements, he’s probably worth about $70-$80M provided that he has invested his take home pay well. Maybe he invested $20M-$30M of this into the Guardians? That wouldn’t buy much of a stake in the team.
The dude has made far more money from non-football income than his NFL salaries.
Maybe he can push the Dolan family to spend a little more when the team is good, especially right now that they are in first place.