Chelsea potential ownership insight: Todd Boehly’s consortium

The best way to describe the state of Chelsea over the last month is a circus. The opening act was Roman Abramovich handing ownership duties to the Foundation trustees, which set in motion a chain of crazy events. The Russian then announced his intention to sell the club, sending the worldwide audience into a frenzy. The oligarch was consequently hit with sanctions by the British government, which directly impacted the Blues’ ability to operate on a day-to-day basis with any sense of normalcy. Interested parties have been lining up ever since.

The Raine Group—the New York-based company tasked with running the show—has narrowed its list down to four parties as it prepares for the closing act, which will likely take center stage in April. The Pride of London has already scouted two of Chelsea’s potential bidders in Sir Martin Broughton and Stephen Pagliuca. It is now time to dive deep into the man behind the group that’s been favorited to take over the club from day one, Todd Boehly.

Here is more about the consortium as we put Boehly and his associates under the microscope:

Todd Boehly

The frontman of the consortium, Boehly, is an American businessman and investor. His experience in the business world is a bit more cut and dry, so before diving into his sporting ventures, we’ll discuss those. The 46-year-old most notably wears many hats at Eldridge Industries, which is a holding company headquartered in Connecticut. Boehly is a co-founder, Chairman, CEO and controlling member. His status here is where most of his wealth (net worth of £3.57 billion) comes from.

Eldridge invests in numerous influential industries, such as food, life insurance, media, sports and technology. The most notable asset under the Eldridge Industries umbrella is Cain International, a real estate firm based in London. This checks one of the major boxes for any potential owner as the renovation of Stamford Bridge is seen as a priority following the takeover. In addition to his aforementioned positions, Boehly is a part of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, where he has acted as the interim CEO since October 2021.

Boehly is also a part-time owner of numerous sports franchises in the Los Angeles area. He is known mostly for the part he plays in the Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB) organization. The Dodgers are one of the most consistent and best teams in baseball, and they have been for a better part of the last decade. The American also recently dipped his toes into the basketball pool when he became a part owner of the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Los Angeles Sparks (WNBA).

Simply put, he has a track record of investing in successful sports franchises who put winning first. Perhaps the most admirable thing about Boehly is his dedication to both success and inclusion. He is a firm believer in growing women’s sports, as evidenced by his investment in the Sparks and attempt to purchase the Washington Spirit (NWSL). This is another important quality in an owner as Chelsea is amongst the leaders in the innovation of women’s football.

While Boehly has a lot of experience in American sports, what makes him a good candidate to own a Premier League club? English sports are not completely foreign to him seeing as he spent time studying at the London School of Economics. Given how big a sports fan Boehly is, it’s very unlikely the English top flight was completely foreign to him at the time. Furthermore, he’s attempted to purchase both Chelsea and Tottenham in years past.

It now seems as if he could finally break through into the Premier League as an owner of the Blues. While Chelsea supporters will understandably upset to see Abramovich depart after 19 years, they would be getting a seemingly overqualified replacement in Boehly.