Travis Kelce is set to become a minority owner of a Cleveland sports franchise.
Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs tight end and former University of Cincinnati Bearcat, told ESPN on Wednesday, May 27 he will join the Cleveland Guardians’ ownership group as a minority investor.
Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed, according to ESPN. The Guardians, valued at around $1.7 billion, have yet to announce the deal, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
“I have so much love for this city,” Kelce told ESPN Senior MLB Insider Jeff Passan. “I say it all the time: I’m just a kid from the Heights living the dream. I credit every good thing in my life to Cleveland and being raised here with the values and the people and the work ethic.”
The three-time Super Bowl champion is the latest professional athlete to acquire an equity stake in an MLB team, according to ESPN. Kelce joins a growing list of athletes who have become minority investors in baseball teams, including LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Cade Cunningham and Patrick Mahomes.
But what does the NFL star know about baseball? Well, Kelce grew up playing the sport and rooting for Cleveland’s 1990s MLB teams. Kelce, a self-proclaimed “die-hard” fan, would even travel to downtown Cleveland and keep score with his father and baseball coach, Ed Kelce.
“There was nothing like Cleveland baseball in the ’90s,” Kelce said. “That’s just a core memory for me.”
Before he was recruited to UC for football, Kelce was one of the best baseball players in Cleveland, per ESPN. Kelce hit .588 with six home runs during his senior year in 2008. Kelce told the national sports website that he always felt “most confident on the diamond.”
“I mean, it’s hard to find a better feeling in sports than hitting a home run. But the best part about playing baseball growing up for me was enjoying it with the fellas and their families I played with. I was lucky enough to be on some great teams growing up on the east side of Cleveland,” he continued.
Contributing: Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Travis Kelce buys minority ownership stake in Cleveland Guardians
Reporting by Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
