Travis Kelce Just Bought Into the Cleveland Guardians. Patrick Mahomes Has Some Bragging Rights to Defend.
Travis Kelce is going home. Not as a player. As an owner.
The Cleveland Heights native and 11-time Pro Bowl tight end has bought a minority stake in the Cleveland Guardians, the team announced Tuesday. He joins an ownership group led by chairman Paul Dolan and David Blitzer, who holds an option to take over majority control after the 2027 season.
Kelce is now the second Kansas City Chiefs star to own a piece of an American League Central team. Patrick Mahomes bought roughly one percent of the Kansas City Royals back in 2020. The bragging rights are now officially in play, and Kelce wasted no time making it personal.
The Mahomes-Kelce Rivalry Has a New Front
Asked by ESPN about the new role, Kelce said there would be “bragging rights” when the Guardians and Royals play. Mahomes responded on social media within minutes. He posted a clip of Kelce’s infamous 2023 first pitch, the one that bounced about 15 feet short of home plate and turned into the most viewed first pitch attempt of the decade.
Mahomes’ caption was congratulatory. The clip was the joke. That is the Patrick Mahomes special.
The two divisions making this rivalry workable is the AL Central setup. The Royals and Guardians play each other 13 times a year. That is 13 dinners where Kelce and Mahomes can rub each other’s noses in it.
What Kelce Actually Owns
The Guardians are valued at approximately $1.7 billion, according to ESPN. Minority stakes at that level typically run between one and five percent. The financial terms have not been disclosed, but Kelce is now part of an ownership group that controls one of the more interesting franchises in baseball.
Cleveland is in first place in the AL Central by 10 games and looking like a real contender. Jose Ramirez is having an MVP-caliber season. The pitching staff has been one of the best in baseball. Steven Kwan is hitting .345.
If this team makes a deep playoff run, Kelce is going to be in the stands with a beverage and a camera follow, and that is going to be all the content the team needs.
The Verdict
Athletes buying into franchises in their hometowns is becoming a pattern. LeBron James owns part of Liverpool. Tom Brady is in on the Raiders and Birmingham City. Kelce buying into Cleveland is the kind of move that signals where he sees the back half of his career.
He still has at least one more season in Kansas City. After that, the next chapter is the broadcast booth, the production company, and a seat in a luxury suite at Progressive Field watching the Guardians chase a World Series.
Patrick Mahomes is on notice. So is the first pitch joke. Cleveland has its newest cheerleader, and his name is on a Hall of Fame ballot in a decade.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
