Lakers' LeBron James Says His Interest in NFL Ownership Is 'Possibly' Undersold

LeBron James has made it known he wants to own a sports team someday, and the Los Angeles Lakers star could be seriously considering purchasing an NFL franchise at some point in the future.

Speaking to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, James said we have "possibly" been underselling his interesting in buying an NFL team.

James is currently a part-owner of the Boston Red Sox, having joined the Fenway Sports Group in March 2021. The group also owns Liverpool Football Club, Roush Fenway Racing and the regional sports network NESN.

The Athletic's David Ornstein reported on Monday that FSG has put Liverpool up for sale, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley being retained to help assist with the process.

In a separate quote to Woike, James said he always has "ongoing conversations" with his business partners about potential opportunities, and "we'll see what happens" with regard to Liverpool's sale.

James has spoken in the past about how the lack of diversity among NFL owners is a problem.

During an episode of The Shop in December 2018 (h/t Ben Golliver of The Washington Post), James said the NFL has a "bunch of old white men owning teams" who have a "slave mentality" toward players.

Mellody Hobson became the first Black team owner in the NFL as part of the Walton-Penner group that purchased the Denver Broncos earlier this year. Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kim Pegula of the Buffalo Bills are the only non-white people who own a majority stake in an NFL franchise.

After playing a preseason game at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas last month, James said he would love to own an NBA franchise if the league ever brought a team to the city.

"It was wonderful," he told reporters on Oct. 6. "It’s the best fan base in the world, and I would love to bring a team here at some point. That would be amazing."

There have been rumblings for years that James would look to get into ownership when his playing career ends. His longtime business partner Maverick Carter told Variety's Audrey Cleo in July 2018 that the four-time NBA MVP "will be owning a basketball team or maybe even a football team" in about 10 years.

If James does move into an ownership role after retiring as a player, it will almost certainly be part of a group making the purchase. He became the first active NBA player with a net worth of $1 billion earlier this year, per Chase Peterson-Withorn of Forbes.

Forbes estimates the Cincinnati Bengals as the least valuable NFL franchise at $3 billion. Dan and Tanya Snyder recently hired Bank of America Securities to explore potentially selling the Washington Commanders.

It's unclear if the Snyders will sell all or a part of the franchise, if they sell at all.

The Commanders are currently the sixth-most valuable NFL team at $5.6 billion, according to Forbes.