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Star-Studded Additions to Sounders’ Ownership Group

*This piece first appeared in the Front Office Sports Newsletter. Subscribe today and get the news before anyone else. 

Watch out James Harden and Will Ferrell: the MLS celebrity ownership pick-up game just got even bigger.

The MLS club announced yesterday that eleven families with connections to the Seattle area would be joining its ownership group. The new investors will take over part of a stake formerly held by Joe Roth, the Hollywood producer who helped the city land an MLS expansion spot in 2007.

Gang Rave Green

The new group, led by former Microsoft executive Terry Myerson and his wife Katie, is a proverbial who’s who of Seattle. It ranges from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to Seahawks Quarterback Russell Wilson and his Grammy Award-winning wife Ciara to Seattle-born hip hop star Macklemore.

Adrian Hanauer, the club’s current majority owner holding more than 35%, increased his stake in the team as well. Actor Drew Carey, Jody Allen, Paul Barry and Lenore Hanauer make up the rest of the Sounders ownership group.

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