Ownership
What it has cost to own a club: the fee each paid its league to join, what clubs and stakes in them have sold for, and who has run each one. The figures are as reported, mostly by the press; owners rarely announce them. The NASL record is thinner and its years approximate.
Major League Soccer
Expansion fees
| club | awarded | first season | fee | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Fire | 1997 | 1998 | $5,000,000 | 1 | |
| Miami Fusion | 1997 | 1998 | $20,000,000 | 1 | |
| Real Salt Lake | 2004 | 2005 | $7,500,000 | Fun While It Lasted gives $10M | 1 2 |
| Chivas USA | 2004 | 2005 | $7,500,000 | Fun While It Lasted gives $10M, plus a reported $15M to AEG to enter a Los Angeles market it held | 1 2 |
| Toronto FC | 2005 | 2007 | $10,000,000 | 1 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 2007 | 2008 | $20,000,000 | the club reinstated after two seasons dormant | 1 |
| Seattle Sounders | 2007 | 2009 | $30,000,000 | 1 | |
| Philadelphia Union | 2008 | 2010 | $30,000,000 | 1 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 2009 | 2011 | $35,000,000 | 1 | |
| Portland Timbers | 2009 | 2011 | $35,000,000 | 1 | |
| CF Montréal | 2010 | 2012 | $40,000,000 | 1 | |
| New York City FC | 2013 | 2015 | $100,000,000 | 1 | |
| Orlando City SC | 2013 | 2015 | $70,000,000 | 1 | |
| Atlanta United | 2014 | 2017 | $70,000,000 | 1 | |
| Los Angeles FC | 2014 | 2018 | $110,000,000 | 1 | |
| Minnesota United FC | 2015 | 2017 | $100,000,000 | 1 | |
| Nashville SC | 2017 | 2020 | $150,000,000 | 1 2 | |
| FC Cincinnati | 2018 | 2019 | $150,000,000 | 1 | |
| Inter Miami | 2018 | 2020 | $25,000,000 | the fee fixed in an option David Beckham received in his 2007 playing contract | 1 2 |
| Austin FC | 2019 | 2021 | — | no separate fee reported, Precourt Sports Ventures took the Austin team as part of the 2018 deal that sold Columbus | 1 |
| Charlotte FC | 2019 | 2022 | $325,000,000 | 1 | |
| Saint Louis City SC | 2019 | 2023 | $200,000,000 | 1 | |
| San Diego FC | 2023 | 2025 | $500,000,000 | 1 |
Sales
| year | club | seller | buyer | stake | price | club valued at | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | LA Galaxy | Major League Soccer | Anschutz Entertainment Group | — | $26,000,000 | — | 1 | |
| 2003 | Colorado Rapids | Anschutz Entertainment Group | Kroenke Sports Enterprises | — | — | — | terms not found | 1 |
| 2006 | New York Red Bulls | Anschutz Entertainment Group | Red Bull | 100% | $100,000,000 | — | included the stadium naming rights and half the stadium equity, the team alone was estimated at about $30M | 1 |
| 2006 | Sporting Kansas City | Lamar Hunt | OnGoal (Sporting Club) | 100% | $20,000,000 | — | about $20M | 1 |
| 2007 | Chicago Fire | Anschutz Entertainment Group | Andell Holdings | 100% | $35,000,000 | — | 1 2 | |
| 2007 | D.C. United | Anschutz Entertainment Group | DC United Holdings | 100% | $33,000,000 | — | operating rights, then a record | 1 2 |
| 2008 | Houston Dynamo | Anschutz Entertainment Group | Gabriel Brener and Oscar De La Hoya | 50% | — | $45,000,000 | AEG kept the other half and control | 1 2 |
| 2012 | D.C. United | William Chang | Erick Thohir and Jason Levien | majority | — | $50,000,000 | Chang stayed on as a minority investor | 1 |
| 2013 | Columbus Crew | Hunt Sports Group | Precourt Sports Ventures | 100% | $68,000,000 | — | then a record for an existing club | 1 |
| 2014 | Chivas USA | Jorge Vergara and Angélica Fuentes | Major League Soccer | 100% | $70,000,000 | — | about $70M as reported, the league folded the club after the 2014 season | 1 2 |
| 2015 | Houston Dynamo | Anschutz Entertainment Group | Gabriel Brener | 50% | — | — | terms not found | 1 |
| 2018 | Chicago Fire | Andrew Hauptman | Joe Mansueto | 49% | — | — | 1 | |
| 2018 | Columbus Crew | Precourt Sports Ventures | Haslam and Edwards families | 100% | $150,000,000 | — | Precourt took an expansion team in Austin | 1 |
| 2019 | Chicago Fire | Andrew Hauptman | Joe Mansueto | 51% | $204,000,000 | $400,000,000 | 1 | |
| 2021 | Houston Dynamo | Gabriel Brener | Ted Segal | controlling | — | $400,000,000 | the Dynamo and the Houston Dash together | 1 |
| 2021 | Inter Miami | Marcelo Claure and Masayoshi Son | Jorge and José Mas | about 48% | — | $600,000,000 | enterprise value $600M to $650M | 1 |
| 2021 | Orlando City SC | Flávio Augusto da Silva | Wilf family | 100% | — | $400,000,000 | $400M to $450M, with the stadium and the Orlando Pride | 1 |
| 2022 | Real Salt Lake | Dell Loy Hansen | David Blitzer and Ryan Smith | 100% | $400,000,000 | — | nearly $400M, with the stadium, the Real Monarchs and the training complex | 1 |
| 2025 | Columbus Crew | Haslam Sports Group | minority investors | 10% | — | $900,000,000 | 1 | |
| 2025 | Real Salt Lake | David Blitzer and Ryan Smith | Miller family | majority | — | $600,000,000 | Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals together | 1 |
| 2026 | Los Angeles FC | Joe Tsai | Carlos Vela and others | minority | — | $1,250,000,000 | 1 | |
| 2026 | Sporting Kansas City | Illig family | Peter Mallouk | majority, to about 80% | — | $700,000,000 | the largest majority-stake purchase in MLS | 1 2 |
Operators
| club | operator | from | to | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta United | Arthur Blank | 2014 | present | 1 | |
| Austin FC | Anthony Precourt (Two Oak Ventures) | 2018 | present | 1 | |
| CF Montréal | Joey Saputo | 2010 | present | 1 | |
| Charlotte FC | David Tepper | 2019 | present | 1 | |
| Chicago Fire | Anschutz Entertainment Group | 1997 | 2007 | 1 2 | |
| Andrew Hauptman (Andell Holdings) | 2007 | 2019 | 1 2 | ||
| Joe Mansueto | 2019 | present | 1 | ||
| Chivas USA | Jorge Vergara and Antonio Cué | 2004 | 2012 | 1 2 | |
| Jorge Vergara | 2012 | 2014 | 1 2 | ||
| Major League Soccer | 2014 | 2014 | folded after the 2014 season | 1 | |
| Colorado Rapids | Anschutz Entertainment Group | 1995 | 2003 | 1 2 | |
| Kroenke Sports & Entertainment | 2003 | present | 1 2 | ||
| Columbus Crew | Lamar Hunt | 1995 | 2006 | 1 | |
| Clark Hunt | 2006 | 2013 | 1 | ||
| Anthony Precourt (Precourt Sports Ventures) | 2013 | 2018 | 1 | ||
| Haslam and Edwards families | 2018 | present | 1 | ||
| D.C. United | Washington Soccer, LP | 1995 | 2000 | 1 2 | |
| Anschutz Entertainment Group | 2001 | 2006 | 1 2 | ||
| William Chang (DC United Holdings) | 2006 | 2012 | 1 2 | ||
| William Chang, Erick Thohir and Jason Levien | 2012 | 2018 | 1 | ||
| Jason Levien and Steven Kaplan | 2018 | present | 1 | ||
| FC Cincinnati | Carl Lindner III and partners | 2018 | present | Meg Whitman and Griff Harsh minority owners from 2019 | 1 |
| FC Dallas | Major League Soccer | 1995 | 2001 | 1 | |
| Lamar Hunt | 2001 | 2006 | 1 | ||
| Clark Hunt | 2006 | present | 1 | ||
| Houston Dynamo | Anschutz Entertainment Group | 2005 | 2008 | 1 | |
| Anschutz Entertainment Group, Oscar De La Hoya and Gabriel Brener | 2008 | 2015 | 1 2 | ||
| Gabriel Brener, Oscar De La Hoya, Jake Silverstein and Ben Guill | 2015 | 2021 | James Harden bought 5% in 2019 | 1 | |
| Ted Segal | 2021 | present | 1 | ||
| Inter Miami | David Beckham, Simon Fuller, Marcelo Claure, Jorge and José Mas, Masayoshi Son | 2018 | 2021 | 1 | |
| Jorge and José Mas, David Beckham | 2021 | present | 1 | ||
| LA Galaxy | L.A. Soccer Partners, LP | 1995 | 1997 | 1 | |
| Anschutz Entertainment Group | 1998 | present | 1 | ||
| Los Angeles FC | Peter Guber, Henry Nguyen, Larry Berg, Brandon Beck, Bennett Rosenthal and partners | 2014 | present | Berg, Beck and Rosenthal are the managing owners | 1 |
| Miami Fusion | Ken Horowitz | 1997 | 2001 | contracted after the 2001 season | 1 |
| Minnesota United FC | Bill McGuire and partners | 2015 | present | 1 | |
| Nashville SC | John Ingram | 2017 | present | 1 | |
| New England Revolution | Robert Kraft and family | 1995 | present | 1 | |
| New York City FC | City Football Group and Yankee Global Enterprises | 2013 | present | 1 | |
| New York Red Bulls | John Kluge and Stuart Subotnick | 1995 | 2001 | 1 2 | |
| Anschutz Entertainment Group | 2001 | 2006 | 1 2 | ||
| Red Bull GmbH | 2006 | present | 1 2 | ||
| Orlando City SC | Flávio Augusto da Silva | 2013 | 2021 | 1 | |
| Wilf family | 2021 | present | 1 | ||
| Philadelphia Union | Jay Sugarman (Keystone Sports & Entertainment) | 2008 | present | 1 | |
| Portland Timbers | Merritt Paulson (Peregrine Sports) | 2009 | present | 1 | |
| Real Salt Lake | Dave Checketts (SCP Worldwide) | 2004 | 2012 | 1 | |
| Dell Loy Hansen | 2012 | 2021 | 1 | ||
| David Blitzer and Ryan Smith | 2022 | 2025 | 1 | ||
| Miller family | 2025 | present | David Blitzer kept a minority stake | 1 | |
| Saint Louis City SC | Taylor family (Carolyn Kindle) and Jim Kavanaugh | 2019 | present | 1 | |
| San Diego FC | Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation | 2023 | present | 1 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | Major League Soccer | 1996 | 1998 | 1 | |
| Robert Kraft | 1999 | 2000 | 1 2 | ||
| Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment | 2001 | 2002 | 1 | ||
| Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment and Anschutz Entertainment Group | 2002 | 2003 | 1 | ||
| Anschutz Entertainment Group | 2003 | 2005 | the club moved to Houston after 2005 | 1 | |
| Lewis Wolff and John Fisher | 2007 | present | 1 | ||
| Seattle Sounders | Joe Roth | 2007 | 2015 | Adrian Hanauer, Paul Allen and Drew Carey minority owners | 1 |
| Adrian Hanauer | 2015 | 2019 | 1 | ||
| Adrian Hanauer, Jody Allen and partners | 2019 | present | a wider group of local investors joined in 2019 | 1 | |
| Sporting Kansas City | Lamar Hunt | 1995 | 2006 | 1 2 | |
| Sporting Club | 2006 | 2026 | 1 2 | ||
| Peter Mallouk | 2026 | present | 1 2 | ||
| Tampa Bay Mutiny | Major League Soccer | 1995 | 2001 | contracted after the 2001 season | 1 |
| Toronto FC | Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment | 2006 | present | 1 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | Greg Kerfoot, Steve Luczo, Jeff Mallett and Steve Nash | 2009 | present | for sale since December 2024 | 1 2 |
North American Soccer League
Expansion fees
| club | awarded | first season | fee | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Cosmos | 1970 | 1971 | $350,000 | put up in tenths by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun and eight other Warner executives, far above the $25,000 the ASHA puts the fee at two years later | 1 |
| Philadelphia Atoms | 1972 | 1973 | $25,000 | inferred: the American Soccer History Archives says 1974's $75,000 fee was triple the year before's | 1 |
| Seattle Sounders | 1973 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 2 | |
| San Jose Earthquakes | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 | |
| Baltimore Comets | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 2 | |
| Washington Diplomats | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 | |
| Denver Dynamos | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 | |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 2 | |
| Boston Minutemen | 1974 | 1974 | $75,000 | 1 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | 1974 | 1975 | $25,000 | George Strawbridge and Beau Rogers, Wikipedia's figure, below the $75,000 the ASHA gives for that year's clubs | 1 |
| Colorado Caribous | 1976 | 1978 | $1,000,000 | Booth Gardner and James Guercio | 1 2 |
Sales
| year | club | seller | buyer | stake | price | club valued at | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Baltimore Bays | Murdaugh Stuart Madden | Baltimore Orioles (Jerold Hoffberger) | franchise rights | $60,000 | — | rights in the National Professional Soccer League, which merged into the NASL in 1968 | 1 |
| 1968 | Cleveland Stokers | Vernon Stouffer and Gabe Paul | Howard Metzenbaum and Ted Bonda | 100% | — | — | 1 | |
| 1971 | New York Cosmos | Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun and eight partners | Warner Communications | 100% | $1 | — | sold for one dollar after months of losses | 1 |
| 1972 | Miami Toros | John Bilotta and Arthur Bant | Joe Robbie and partners | 100% | — | — | a group of 25 local business leaders, the club became the Toros | 1 |
| 1975 | Baltimore Comets | Baltimore Comets ownership | Ken Keegan | 100% | — | — | moved to San Diego as the Jaws | 1 |
| 1975 | Denver Dynamos | Denver Dynamos ownership | Jack Crocker and partners | 100% | — | — | moved to Minnesota as the Kicks | 1 |
| 1975 | Toronto Blizzard | Toronto Metros | Toronto Croatia | 50% | $250,000 | — | the club became the Toronto Metros-Croatia | 1 |
| 1975 | Washington Diplomats | Jim Karvellas and partners | Steve Danzansky and partners | 100% | $650,000 | — | the league called it the largest franchise transaction in its history | 1 2 |
| 1976 | Philadelphia Atoms | Thomas McCloskey | Mexican clubs including Chivas de Guadalajara | 100% | — | — | 1 | |
| 1977 | Connecticut Bicentennials | Bob Darling | Milan Mandarić | 100% | — | — | moved to Oakland as the Stompers | 1 |
| 1978 | Rochester Lancers | Blue & Gold Ltd. | Bernard Rodin | 20% | $400,000 | — | 1 | |
| 1979 | Colorado Caribous | Booth Gardner and James Guercio | Ted Turner and Dick Cecil | 100% | $1,500,000 | — | moved to Atlanta as the Chiefs | 1 |
| 1979 | Portland Timbers | Oregon Soccer Inc. | Louisiana-Pacific | 100% | $850,000 | — | about $850,000 per Fun While It Lasted, Wikipedia says an offer of $650,000 was rejected and the sale went through for an undisclosed sum | 1 2 |
| 1979 | Toronto Blizzard | Pro Soccer Ltd. | Global Television Network | 85% | $2,600,000 | — | Wikipedia's figure, Fun While It Lasted gives $1.6M | 1 2 |
| 1980 | Memphis Rogues | Avron Fogelman | Nelson Skalbania | 100% | $1,200,000 | — | Wikipedia's figure, $1.0M per Fun While It Lasted, Skalbania paid only the down payment and was later ordered to pay the balance, moved to Calgary as the Boomers | 1 2 |
| 1980 | Minnesota Kicks | Jack Crocker and partners | Ralph Sweet and partners | 100% | — | — | 1 | |
| 1980 | Philadelphia Fury | Philadelphia Fury ownership | Molson Brewery | 100% | — | — | moved to Montreal as the Manic | 1 |
| 1981 | Calgary Boomers | Nelson Skalbania | Peter Pocklington | 100% | — | — | merged into the Edmonton Drillers | 1 |
| 1983 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | George Strawbridge, Lamar Hunt and Bill McNutt | Stella Thayer, Bob Blanchard and Dick Corbett | 100% | — | — | 1 |
Operators
| club | operator | from | to | note | sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Chiefs | Atlanta Braves organization (Dick Cecil) | 1967 | 1972 | 1 | |
| Ted Turner and Dick Cecil | 1979 | 1981 | the Colorado Caribous, moved | 1 | |
| Baltimore Bays | Jerold Hoffberger (Baltimore Orioles) | 1967 | 1969 | 1 | |
| Baltimore Comets | Lou Foreaker | 1974 | 1975 | 1 | |
| Boston Beacons | Red Auerbach and Dick O'Connell | 1968 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Boston Minutemen | John Sterge | 1974 | 1976 | 1 | |
| Calgary Boomers | Nelson Skalbania | 1981 | 1981 | 1 | |
| California Surf | Robert Hermann and partners | 1978 | 1981 | 1 | |
| Chicago Mustangs | Arthur Allyn Jr. | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Chicago Sting | Lee Stern | 1975 | 1984 | 1 | |
| Cleveland Stokers | Vernon Stouffer and Gabe Paul | 1967 | 1967 | 1 | |
| Howard Metzenbaum and Ted Bonda | 1968 | 1968 | 1 | ||
| Colorado Caribous | Booth Gardner and James Guercio | 1978 | 1978 | 1 | |
| Connecticut Bicentennials | Bob Darling | 1975 | 1977 | 1 | |
| Dallas Tornado | Lamar Hunt and Bill McNutt | 1967 | 1981 | 1 | |
| Detroit Cougars | William Clay Ford and John Fetzer | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Detroit Express | Roger Faulkner, Sonny Van Arnem, Gary Lemmen and Jimmy Hill | 1978 | 1980 | 1 | |
| Edmonton Drillers | Peter Pocklington | 1979 | 1982 | 1 | |
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | Joe and Elizabeth Robbie | 1977 | 1983 | moved to Minnesota as the Strikers for 1984 | 1 |
| Houston Hurricane | Hans von Mende | 1978 | 1980 | 1 | |
| Houston Stars | Roy Hofheinz | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Los Angeles Aztecs | Jack Gregory | 1974 | 1974 | four ownership groups in eight years, Elton John a part-owner from 1975 to 1977 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Wolves | Jack Kent Cooke | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Memphis Rogues | Avron Fogelman and partners | 1978 | 1980 | 1 | |
| Miami Toros | Joe Robbie and partners | 1973 | 1976 | 1 | |
| Minnesota Kicks | Jack Crocker and partners | 1976 | 1980 | 1 | |
| Ralph Sweet and partners | 1981 | 1981 | 1 | ||
| Minnesota Strikers | Elizabeth Robbie | 1984 | 1984 | 1 | |
| Montreal Manic | Molson Brewery | 1981 | 1983 | 1 | |
| New England Tea Men | Lipton | 1978 | 1980 | moved to Jacksonville as the Tea Men for 1980 | 1 |
| New York Cosmos | Warner Communications | 1971 | 1984 | founded by Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun and other Warner executives | 1 |
| New York Generals | RKO General and Peter Elser | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Oakland Clippers | Joseph O'Neill and H.T. Hilliard | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Oakland Stompers | Milan Mandarić | 1978 | 1978 | 1 | |
| Philadelphia Atoms | Thomas McCloskey | 1973 | 1975 | 1 | |
| Philadelphia Fury | Rick Wakeman, Peter Frampton, Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and partners | 1978 | 1980 | 1 | |
| Portland Timbers | Oregon Soccer Inc. | 1975 | 1979 | 1 | |
| Louisiana-Pacific | 1980 | 1982 | 1 | ||
| Rochester Lancers | Charlie Schiano (majority) | 1967 | 1980 | 1 | |
| San Antonio Thunder | Ward Lay | 1975 | 1976 | moved to Hawaii as Team Hawaii | 1 |
| San Diego Jaws | Ken Keegan | 1976 | 1976 | 1 | |
| San Diego Sockers | Bob Bell and partners | 1978 | 1984 | 1 | |
| Seattle Sounders | Walter Daggatt and partners | 1974 | 1983 | local investors throughout, control changing among them | 1 |
| St. Louis Stars | Bob Hermann | 1967 | 1977 | 1 | |
| Tampa Bay Rowdies | George Strawbridge and Beau Rogers | 1975 | 1983 | 1 | |
| Stella Thayer, Bob Blanchard and Dick Corbett | 1984 | 1984 | 1 | ||
| Team America | Robert Lifton | 1983 | 1983 | 1 | |
| Toronto Blizzard | Global Television Network | 1979 | present | bought 85% in 1979, later owned by York-Hanover | 1 |
| Vancouver Royals | E.G. Eakins, then George Fleharty | 1967 | 1968 | 1 | |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | Herb Capozzi and partners | 1974 | present | the founding owners | 1 |
| Washington Diplomats | Jim Karvellas and partners | 1974 | 1975 | 1 2 | |
| Steve Danzansky and partners | 1975 | 1978 | 1 | ||
| Madison Square Garden Corp. | 1979 | 1980 | folded after losing $6M | 1 | |
| Washington Whips | Earl Foreman | 1967 | 1968 | 1 |
Price is what was paid for the stake; club valued at is what the deal valued the whole club at. A sale that included a stadium, real estate or a sister club says so in the note. Clubs that began play in a league's first season paid no expansion fee and are not listed under fees.