The San Francisco 49ers have a couple of very high-profile new business partners.
It was announced last month that 49ers Enterprises, the group which owns the 49ers, would take over 100 percent of Leeds United, a British football club in the English Championship. Joining them, per reports, will be PGA golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
Spieth, the former No. 1 golfer in the world, and winner of the Masters, U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship, said that Rickie Fowler nearly joined the duo before Leeds were relegated.
In professional soccer, the relegation system (with some exceptions) send the bottom three teams down a division at the end of the season, and promotes the top three from the tier below.
Leeds were previously in the English Premier League, the most profitable, and widely-known soccer league in the world, before being relegated to the Championship.
Through Sky Sports, Spieth said the following:
Relegation wasn’t ideal, but we got involved with the 49ers group about purchasing a larger share and getting in with them doing things so successfully as they do everywhere they’ve touched.
We thought it would be a cool opportunity. It’s a big city, historic club, great venue in Elland Road, and once we looked into it we realised it could be really exciting.
[The 49ers] renegotiated after relegation and it was possibly a better deal — as long as they can get promoted [to the Premier League] soon.
Spieth, per the PGA Tour’s official website, is the seventh-highest earner in the Tour’s history, having made more than $59.18 million in winnings. Thomas is 10th, with $53.95 million in winnings.
“It’s done,” Spieth said through Sky Sports. “Myself and Justin with a minority stake. The 49ers beat my [Dallas] Cowboys every year, so if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”
The move adds a bit more juice to a reported more than $210 million takeover. 49ers enterprises went from 44 percent ownership of the team — which featured American national team standouts Brendan Aaronson, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams last season — before making the move to full ownership on June 10.