Report: Jets Owner Woody Johnson Interested in Buying Chelsea F.C.
New York Jets owner Robert "Woody" Johnson is interested in buying Chelsea F.C. of the English Premier League, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
According to Schefter's report, Johnson has already been in touch with Raine Group, preparing his bid for one of the best clubs in Europe.
Here's more from Schefter:
Johnson is considered to be very knowledgeable of both the Chelsea club and the Premier League, having lived in London, where he served as the United States ambassador.
While there, Johnson is said to have become a fan of the organization and its supporters, and he is aware of the important role that the Premier League plays throughout the United Kingdom.
There currently are multiple NFL owners who own English Premier League teams: Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Arsenal F.C., Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan and Fulham F.C., the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Glazer Family and Manchester United, and the San Francisco 49ers' owner Jed York has a minority stake in Leeds United.
Chelsea is currently owned by Russian Roman Abramovich, whose decision to sell the club has apparently been influenced by mounting pressure on the U.K. government to seize the assets of high-value Russian individuals with links to Russia president Vladimir Putin's regime following the country's invasion of Ukraine. Abramovich has always denied any ties to Putin.
The Jets played in London last season, falling to the Falcons in Week 5. New York also played across the pond in 2015, beating the Dolphins.
Johnson purchased the Jets back in 2000 for $635 million. According to Schefter's report, Chelsea's current owner is seeking approximately £3 billion (or $2.24 billion) for the club.
Chelsea currently sits in third place in the English Premier League with a 15-8-3 record.
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