Report: Todd Boehly Signs Purchase Agreement to Buy Chelsea; Worth Up to $4.9 Billion

American businessman and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehly is set to become the new owner of Premier League side Chelsea by the end of May.

Boehly signed the purchase agreement to buy the English soccer club in a deal worth up to $4.9 billion, according to Matt Law of the Telegraph, and the Premier League is expected to approve the sale upon completion of an owners' and directors' test.

The British government also needs to issue a new license for the sale of Chelsea, Law reported. The club's operating license will expire at the end of the month.

"While a deal is not yet complete, the signing of the purchase agreement is seen as the most significant step of the process so far and is essentially the commitment that transfers the shares of the seller to the buyer with a date set by which the deal must take place," Law wrote. 

The Athletic's Matt Slater reported in March that New York Jets chairman Woody Johnson was out of the running to buy Chelsea. At the time, Law reported Johnson had made a "big offer" to buy the Blues.

Boehly and the co-managing partners of the Philadelphia 76ers, Josh Harris and David Blitzer, were believed to be the front-runners for the club.

Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003, ceded control to the club's charitable trust after being sanctioned by the British government and banned by the Premier League because of Russia's war on Ukraine.

Much like the Dodgers of Major League Baseball, Chelsea has been one of the best teams in its league for a long time. The Blues won the 2021 UEFA Champions League and sit third in the EPL standings. They are set to face Liverpool in the FA Cup Final on May 14.

Boehly is only the latest owner of an American professional sports team to look to the Premier League. The Glazer family, which owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, owns Manchester United. In addition, Los Angeles Rams chairman Stan Kroenke is the majority shareholder of Arsenal.