In response to the rumour that West Brom will be acquired this week by billionaire Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt and the team’s MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Chris Lepkowski has released a statement describing the situation as “interesting.
On November 5, the former journalist for the Birmingham Mail reacted on Twitter to a rumour that the star player and a member of the well-known Hunt family were “incoming” at The Hawthorns.
Forbes (12 February) estimated the family’s worth at $20.5 billion [£16.5 billion] after Hunt’s team defeated the Philadelphia Eagles earlier this year. Hunt is a part-owner of the NFL team that is currently the defending champions.
Two-time league MVP Mahomes restructured his 10-year $450 million [£363 million] contract in September of 2020, making him the highest paid player in the NFL for the following four seasons [Sky Sports, 18 September].
Lepkowski also disclosed separately on November 5 via the Liquidator podcast that two parties are “extremely serious” and “very much involved” in negotiations to purchase the Baggies.
If the allegation about Hunt and Mahomes is true, it would be a very high-profile development, so the fact that there hasn’t been much discussion of it suggests there must be some doubt.
English football currently has no shortage of American ownership, and the relationship between the NFL and clubs on this side of the Atlantic is only getting stronger.
Owner Shahid Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars is in charge of Fulham, Stan Kroenke of the Los Angeles Rams is in charge of Arsenal, and in the summer, the investment division of the San Francisco 49ers acquired 100% ownership of Leeds United.
A sizable portion of the fan base already supports a swift buy-out due to the unpopularity of the current majority shareholder, Guochuan Lai.
Though it’s doubtful that will happen this week and the Hunt-Mahomes rumour may just be conjecture, it will soon become evident whether the claim—or at least the first part of it—is true.
Along with his brother Dan, Clark Hunt is a co-owner of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer (MLS). With the star power that would accompany the star quarterback’s possible involvement, this is probably going to be a popular prospect.
Although Lepkowski didn’t reject the idea out of hand, it is likely that the interested parties are currently less well-known people in the absence of much more information.
