Detroit Lions owner.
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Are the Detroit Lions being sold? The president of the organization is answering, and it's a big unexpected.
The Detroit Lions are owned by the Ford family, and Sheila Ford Hamp is the franchise’s principal owner and chairwoman. Hamp took over for her 100-year-old mother, Martha Firestone Ford, who owned and operated the franchise from 2014 to 2020 after her husband, William Clay Ford, died.
So, are the Detroit Lions selling the team? That question seems to have come out of nowhere, because there’s been no talk of this team selling. But, looking at how the Seattle Seahawks are being sold following the passing of Paul Allen, it’s a topic that has just come up in an interview with Lions president Ron Wood. His answer may surprise you, too.
Are the Detroit Lions Being Sold? Detroit Lions President Has Surprising Answer
In an interview published on Tuesday, March 31, Lions president Rod Wood told the Detroit Free Press that private equity firms and other investors “regularly” contact them about getting involved and even a possible sale, but Martha isn’t planning to sell it. That is, yet.
“Right now there’s no immediate desire or need,” Wood said in the interview with Dave Birkett. “They’re aware of what’s out here in the market, they’re aware of what the market values are. Mrs. Ford, still around, she still has a big stake in the team. At her passing, some of this I’m sure will get revisited but right now there’s no urgency. I mean, there’s a lot of people that reach out that would love to invest.”
So, the team is not being sold at any point soon. But, it’s quite interesting that his comments left the door open for a sale to happen when Martha passes, which we hope isn’t for a very long time. So, the Fords have no plans to sell the franchise now, but he says that could eventually change.
Another ‘No’ for the Detroit Lions is Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders
Another “no” for the team is getting pass rusher Maxx Crosby. While the Lions have always appeared interested in him, Wood said in a separate interview with Birkett that they were never planning to be in the running for Crosby this offseason.
Speaking with Birkett, Wood said that the Lions were “never were in the game” for a top-tier pass rusher during the offseason, including Crosby or Trey Hendrickson.
“When we’re looking at our cash and cap budget, we’re looking at it as is and as it will be with those guys knowing that we want to keep many of them, all of them if we can,” Wood said in the interview. “So if we had gone out and done the biggest – let’s say we did the Maxx Crosby trade or the Trey Hendrickson signing, that probably would have meant, which one of these guys are we going to let go?”
Because of that restriction, Wood said they were never serious about a Crosby signing and don’t plan on getting an elite edge for their team. “I get it,” Wood added in the chat. “The cap side, as I said, is easier to manipulate [than your cash budget] but eventually the bill comes due.”