Pittsburgh Billionaire Interested in Purchasing Share of Steelers

Michael Rees, the billionaire co-president of Blue Owl Capital, is among those interested in purchasing a share of the Pittsburgh Steelers that must be put up for sale. Bloomberg first reported his interest in purchasing a share of the team.

Rees, who formerly worked for Neuberger Berman Group and Lehman Brothers, is a Pitt graduate with two masters degrees from MIT. Rees is a Pittsburgh native and a longtime Steelers fan, and a self-described Yinzer.

Maryland investor Josh Harris and his partner David Blitzer own a portion of the Steelers, and with Harris becoming the new majority owner of the Washington Commanders in July, he must sell his share of the Steelers, according to NFL rule.

Rees is the second person with reported interest in purchasing the Harris and Blitzer 5% stake. Harris and Blitzer paid $140 million for their share in 2020. Forbes has currently valued the Steelers at $4.6 billion, meaning they could earn around $100 million in profit in the sale.

Thomas Tull, the billionaire former CEO of Legendary Entertainment, has been a minority owner of the team since 2009, and is interested in increasing his share of the team by purchasing the portion up for sale.

Harris is the third Steelers minority owner to take full ownership of another NFL team. Current Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was first a minority owner of the Steelers before buying the Brows in 2012. Haslam sold his shares of the Steelers to Scott and Russ Swank in 2013, about a year after purchasing the Browns.

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper also owned a 5% share of the Steelers before finalizing his purchase of that franchise. He sold that stake in 2019, a year after finalizing his purchase of the Panthers, to LendingTree CEO Doug Lebda and the NC Revocable Trust, along with some shares that were sold back to the Rooney family.

The club lists 18 minority owners, including Tull, five members of the Rooney-McGinley family and former Steelers wide receiver John Stallworth, among others. Art Rooney II is the team’s president and chief shareholder.