
Steve Ballmer
Ballmer likely really wants to buy a team in Seattle. He tried for the NBA to bring basketball back to Seattle many times (and it should as it let the SuperSonics be almost literally stolen and the city of Seattle would love to still have an NBA team – for example, the WNBA’s Seattle Storm hasn’t ranked outside the top six in attendance since 2015 and even then it ranked 8th).
Eventually, the NBA made it clear that Seattle wasn’t going to get professional basketball again so Ballmer bought the Los Angeles Clippers before the 2014-15 season.
During his time with the Clippers, a long-time awfully run franchise under Donald Sterling, the second Los Angeles franchise has become a sustained success. In fact, since Ballmer bought the Clippers, the team hasn’t had a losing season. Prior to the 2011-12 season, the Clippers had two winning seasons since the 1978-79 season. The Clippers needed a long-term change of direction and Balmer gave it to them.
The point is that Steve Ballmer is driven by success. He wouldn’t simply sit back to be happy to own an NFL team. He would want the franchise to win the Super Bowl every year and do whatever it takes for that to be a possibility.
Also, it should be noted that currently, the richest owner in the NFL is Panthers owner David Tepper with a net-worth of $16.7 billion. Ballmer is worth $96.4 billion. So as far as having a voice in how the NFL does business, Ballmer’s worth would guarantee he has a say.
