San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York has distanced himself from the 49ers Enterprises takeover of Rangers.
Jed is a leading figure in the York family who sit at the head of the 49ers Enterprises group, the US based sports conglomerate who are closing in on the takeover of Rangers.
York – who focuses solely on the business operations of NFL giants the San Francisco 49ers – caused some confusion when he distanced himself from the Rangers takeover reports this week.
With the Rangers takeover is being conducted by the 49ers Enterprises, the comments have some wondering if it changes anything with regards the ongoing Ibrox buyout.
Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images
Jed York on 49ers role in Rangers takeover
Speaking ahead of the Ibrox takeover, Jed York was asked directly about the 49ers’ involvement at Rangers.
Rangers, 49ers Enterprises and US healthcare mogul Andrew Cavenagh have thrashed out the broad terms of an agreement which is expected to be completed by the end of May.
The group will take a 51% shareholding of Rangers with Dave King speaking on the takeover and claiming it will be his Ibrox legacy.
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But York would not be drawn on the situation at Rangers, explaining that the 49ers operations were distinctly separate from Ibrox and even Leeds United.
”We haven’t done anything there,” said York, as quoted by the Scotsman.
”Leeds is obviously under the umbrella, but those are completely separate from the 49ers. Where we can tie brands together and sort of take our best practices of operating and things like that, [we do,] but in terms of financials, they don’t overlap at all.”
What this means is that whilst Jed York and the San Francisco 49ers might sit at the top of the 49ers Enterprises consortium, the NFL outfit will not be involved in the running of Rangers.
Rather there will be a delegation – potentially led by Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe – who will focus their energies on the day-to-day running of Rangers.
Leeds United post £61m loss under 49ers Enterprises
The comments of Jed York also comes as Leeds United release their annual accounts.
49ers Enterprises took over at Elland Road in the summer of 2023 and have worked to curb the excessive spending of former owner Andrea Radrizzani.
After a failure to get into the Premier League last season, Leeds went through downsizing last summer with a player trading differential of £108m. In July the club still had £190m out on credit.
Now, the accounts have brought to light the scale of spending at Leeds and the challenges the 49ers face in turning the club into a healthy, sustainable English footballing giant.
As outlined by Kieran Maguire, the club has made a pre-tax loss of £61m with the club spending £84m per annum on wages.
The Elland Road club are currently in the midst of a Premier League promotion battle with Sheffield United and Burnley and could use the millions on offer by escaping the Championship.
Rangers have also been warned that the 49ers’ careful spending at Leeds proves they shouldn’t be getting carried away.