LeBron James Becoming Part Owner Of Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Red Sox are welcoming a new name to their ownership group, and it's a big one: LeBron James.
Fenway Sports Group -- which owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, and Roush Fenway Racing -- added James as a partner, according to Michael Silverman of The Boston Globe.
Silverman reported that James now owns an "undisclosed amount of FSG shares after previously holding an approximately 2 percent share of the Liverpool soccer franchise since 2011."
James' business partner, Maverick Carter, will also become a partner of FSG.
Silverman noted that FSG hopes to add more professional sports teams to its portfolio, "plus betting, esports, and data analytics companies."
The article noted that John Henry will retain control of the company, with Tom Werner remaining as chairman and Michael Gordon continuing to be president of the operation.
The deal is a game changer according to University of New Hampshire sports law professor Michael McCann. "I think it's more common that we see athletes invest in various businesses during their playing career, it might be a restaurant, might be a bar, might be apparel," McCann said. "To own a stake in another major sports franchise is a development."
McCann says it's a win for LeBron James to add to his portfolio of entrepreneurial activity, but for Fenway Sports Group, a step in the right direction when it comes to diversifying ownership.
"There have been efforts to diversify ownership groups not only in terms of race, but also gender that traditionally it's been a group of individuals who are white men," McCann said.