How to Buy a Pro Sports Team
GQ US|February 2024
Thinking about joining the likes of Ryan Reynolds, David Beckham, and (probably) Jeff Bezos in the mad scramble to land your own club? It's suddenly the hottest pastime of the global super rich. Here's how the game is played.
By Tom Lamont
How to Buy a Pro Sports Team

EARLIER THIS NHL season, as game: time neared in Washington, DC, Ted Leonsis, a contented figure in a red parka, took a turn around a sports arena he owns downtown. The 68-year-old spotted popcorn on the floor of an elevator and sent for a sweeper. As thousands of hockey fans poured in to watch the Washington Capitals, Leonsis stood near the turnstiles, handing out thousands of dollars' worth of rinkside tickets to some kids who caught his eye on their climb to the cheap seats. As the arena filled, not everybody recognized the owner of their team, but those who did patted Leonsis on the arm or else walked up and blurted, "You're Ted!" the way one might on meeting Santa at the hearth. Outgoing, approachable, Leonsis came over like the grandfather he is, ruddy and gray with a high, papery voice that often dissipates to giggles when he talks about the wonders and absurdities of owning sports teams. He loves owning sports teams. As well as the Caps, Leonsis controls the Washington Wizards of the NBA and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. "When you leave after the game," he had told me, "you'll say to yourself, Gosh! I wish I owned sports teams."

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2024 من GQ US.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2024 من GQ US.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من GQ US مشاهدة الكل
SHABOOZEY THE BIG SHA BANG
GQ US

SHABOOZEY THE BIG SHA BANG

Shaboozey spent months at the tippy-top of the charts with a hit song about dealing with hard times the easy way: by hitting the bar. He sang on a couple songs with Beyoncé too. So we asked the one and only SHANIA TWAIN to help country's biggest new star make sense of his explosive year.

time-read
10 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
HANNAH EINBINDER BORN STANDING UP
GQ US

HANNAH EINBINDER BORN STANDING UP

With her star turn on Hacks, the comic turned actor has established herself as one of Hollywood's most exciting young talents-much to her own surprise.

time-read
10 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
Katt Williams The Man Who Opened The Portal
GQ US

Katt Williams The Man Who Opened The Portal

In January, the comic delivered an instantly iconic podcast interview that threw pop culture into crisis-and seemed to predict all manner of messy celebrity gossip to come. At home on his farm, Williams explains why he said what he said— and why he'd do it again, and again, and again....

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
JOHN DAVID & MALCOLM WASHINGTON A NEW HOLLYWOOD DYNASTY
GQ US

JOHN DAVID & MALCOLM WASHINGTON A NEW HOLLYWOOD DYNASTY

The Washington brothers built their careers apart—until an irresistible project drew them together. In The Piano Lesson, they tackle a father's thorny legacy.

time-read
10 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
FUTURE & METRO BOOMIN'S HISTORIC Hit STREAK
GQ US

FUTURE & METRO BOOMIN'S HISTORIC Hit STREAK

What happens when the best rapper alive reunites with the hottest producer of the moment? You get a back-to-back-to-back run unlike any since the Beatles.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
PHARRELL WILLIAMS Designer of the Year
GQ US

PHARRELL WILLIAMS Designer of the Year

Riding along from Paris to Hollywood to New York with the Louis Vuitton *men's creative director, whose prolific and often prophetic contributions to fashion, film, and music have once again thrust him to the center of the pop culture Venn diagram.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
JOHN MULANEY. KID GORGEOUS GROWS UP
GQ US

JOHN MULANEY. KID GORGEOUS GROWS UP

After immortalizing the whirlwind of the past four yearsrelapse, intervention, recovery-in his awardwinning standup special, John Mulaney has emerged as one of the most popular comedians on earth. For his next trick, he's embracing his surprising new role as a suburban dad.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
DWAYNE JOHNSON THE WORLD'S BIGGEST Actor
GQ US

DWAYNE JOHNSON THE WORLD'S BIGGEST Actor

It's hard for Dwayne Johnson to hide. Wherever he goes, there he is― as conspicuous out in the world as he is on the silver screen. But after two decades of playing a version of himself in huge movies, suddenly Dwayne Johnson is ready to do something entirely new: vanish.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
How the WNBA Became the Most Fun, Complicated, and Exciting League in Sports
GQ US

How the WNBA Became the Most Fun, Complicated, and Exciting League in Sports

Caitlin Clark! A'ja Wilson! Angel Reese! This year, women's hoops emerged as a dominant popcultural force. But the road to sports-league supremacy has been long and winding. This is the inside story of how the W finally broke through.

time-read
10+ mins  |
December 2024/January 2025
A Companion for Your Wrist
GQ US

A Companion for Your Wrist

Audemars Piguet's new release with artist Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS, brings high-art hype to the world of pop-watch collabs.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 2024/January 2025