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- Bird and Manning join Kevin Durant’s Thirty Ventures among growing list of minority owners
- New York Giants CCO Pete Guelli also onboard as investor
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) icon Sue Bird and former National Football League (NFL) star Eli Manning have joined the ownership group of National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club NJ/NY Gotham FC, according to Sportico.
The pair have reportedly invested at a US$40 million valuation. The new minority stakeholders join Thirty Five Ventures, the investment vehicle co-founded by National Basketball Association (NBA) player Kevin Durant and his manager Rich Kleiman, as well as Kristin Bernert, Karen Bryant and Carli Lloyd.
Pete Guelli, chief commercial officer at Manning’s former team the New York Giants, has also reportedly joined as an investor in Gotham FC.
On the pitch, Gotham FC are ninth in the 12-team NWSL table after playing ten games. They next face Houston Dash on 31st July.
SportsPro says…
The addition of Bird and Manning continues the trend of celebrity-filled ownership groups in the NWSL. In January 2021, four-time tennis Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka acquired a stake in North Carolina Courage.
Angel City also has a slew of A-list investors, such as actress Gabrielle Union, singer-songwriter Christina Aguilera, author and podcaster Jay Shetty, as well as Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East and her husband, former NFL player Andrew East. Founding investors in the franchise include actresses Natalie Portman and Jessica Chastain, plus tennis great Serena Williams, who is married to lead Angel City investor and Reddit chairman Alexis Ohanian.
More athlete investors in the league could follow. Last month, it was revealed that former US women’s national team (USWNT) players Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner are leading a group looking to bring a NWSL expansion team to the San Francisco Bay Area.
