By MATT PIKE
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is now adding a new title to his business portfolio, Major League Baseball owner, joining the Cleveland Guardians' ownership group as a minority investor.
Kelce told ESPN today that he is purchasing a stake in the team he grew up watching and reconnecting with the game he once believed offered the clearest path to a professional sports career.
"I have so much love for this city," Kelce said to ESPN. "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. That mentality of Cleveland against the world runs deep.
"I've been lucky enough to have a front-row seat to good ownership in my career, and I know the best teams prioritize culture. Everyone is there to play their role, and right now, I'm here to observe and learn and really to support the team and the city when and where I can."
Kelce becomes the latest active professional athlete to acquire an equity stake in an MLB team, also joining teammate Patrick Mahomes, who in July 2020 became a minority owner of the Kansas City Royals. Other professional athletes who own stakes in an MLB team include professional basketball players LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Cade Cunningham.
The Guardians are valued around $1.7 billion, a stark increase from their $1 billion valuation in 2022, when lead minority owner David Blitzer purchased a stake in the team that includes a pathway to majority ownership.
Kelce, who along with Mahomes invested in the Alpine Formula 1 team, also owns stakes in an amusement park company, a mattress company, a beer company, a restaurant, and a lucrative podcast. He was brought into the Guardians' ownership group by Blitzer, also a co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, whose pathway to majority ownership of the Guardians could be converted as early as after the 2027 season.
Rebranded as the Guardians in 2022, they are in first place in the AL Central after winning the division each of the past two seasons. The Guardians hold a nine-game lead over the Royals, a fact, Kelce says won't go unnoticed in the Chiefs' locker room when he talks baseball with Mahomes.
"We're both as competitive as it gets, so you know there will be some bragging rights on the line when we play our division games," Kelce says. "But I really have a lot of respect for the Royals and their organization. It was a fun time in Kansas City cheering them on for their World Series win in 2015."
*ESPN's Jeff Passan contributed to this story
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