The Kansas City Royals announced on Tuesday that Patrick Mahomes will join their ownership group.
What We Know:
- Principal owner John Sherman made a statement about Mahomes, saying “We are very proud and excited to have Patrick as our partner in the ownership group of this franchise . . . he has a deep commitment to Kansas City and a real passion for the game of baseball.”
- Major League Baseball has been a huge part of Mahomes’ life, with his father Pat Mahomes playing 11 years and his godfather LaTroy Hawkins playing 21 years in the league. Mahomes himself was a baseball prospect once and the Detroit Tigers drafted him in 2014.
- Mahomes recently signed a 10-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs worth up to $503 million. It is the most lucrative contract in American professional sports history and it makes Mahomes the only athlete worth half a billion dollars. Mahomes’ value to the Chiefs and importance in Kansas City can’t be understated. He’s only 24 and has already won NFL MVP, brought a Super Bowl trophy to Kansas City, and entered the conversations of best athletes in the world and best quarterbacks in NFL history.
- The Kansas City Royals most recently won the World Series in 2015, but have struggled to make noise in the MLB since. 2016 saw them post a mediocre season due to injuries and miss the playoffs. 2017 was worse as their championship core of players had disbanded. The last two seasons for the Royals have been a time to rebuild. The team had 58 wins in 2018, their fewest since 2005, and followed it up with 59 in 2019. Although they were short on wins, Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler emerged as bonafide stars for the team.
John Sherman purchased the Royals in 2019. With Mahomes joining ownership, the team has high hopes and expectations. Although it might take some time before the team rejoins the league’s elite, maybe Mahomes can bring some of that Chief’s championship culture to the Royals.
