Several prominent sports owners made big donations to Trump's inaugural committee

By Sports Illustrated and SI Wire/Sports Illustrated
Published

Several million dollars of the the $107 million raised by Donald Trump’s inaugural committee came from owners of American sports teams, the Federal Election Committee disclosed.

The donors include owners from each of the four major American professional leagues, though the NFL is represented most prominently.

The following NFL owners donated $1 million: Dan Synder of the Redskins, Shad Khan of the Jaguars, Bob McNair of the Texans, Robert Kraft of the Patriots, Woody Johnson of the Jets and Stan Kroenke of the Rams.

Kraft’s donation was paid through Kraft Group LLC, a holding company. Kroenke is also the owner of the Colorado Rapids in MLS and English soccer club Arsenal. His family also owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rockies. Khan also owns second-tier English soccer club Fulham. Johnson was the vice finance chair of the inaugural committee and has long been reported to be Trump’s choice as ambassador the United Kingdom.

An additional $1 million donation was made by Glenstone Limited Partnership, which is part of the Glenstone Corporation, which in turn is led by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. 

Ed Glazer, chairman of the Buccaneers and director of Manchester United, donated $250,000. 

The NFL’s marketing division, NFL Ventures, donated $100,000, as did the MLB Commissioner’s office. 

Other prominent donors include the Madison Square Garden Company, the holding company chaired by James Dolan that owns the Madison Square Garden arena, the New York Knicks, Liberty and Rangers, in addition to the Knicks’ and Rangers’ minor-league affiliates and other entities. The MSG Company donated $1 million. 

Quicken Loans, founded by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, donated $750 million. 

Marlene Ricketts, the wife of Cubs owner Joe Ricketts, donated $1 million. Her son Todd was hired by Trump as the deputy secretary of the Commerce Department. The Ricketts family also donated $1 million to a Super PAC in support of Trump last year. 

Billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen, who owns a 4% stake in the Mets, donated $1 million. 

In previous years, individual donors were not allowed to donate more than $250,000. The limits on donation sizes are set by the presidential administrations themselves. Trump’s inaugural committee raised more than twice as much as Barack Obama’s in 2009.