{"id":187,"date":"2026-06-10T09:13:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:13:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187"},"modified":"2026-06-10T09:13:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:13:27","slug":"which-new-york-sports-team-owners-are-the-most-politically-influential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187","title":{"rendered":"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>The typical owner of a professional sports franchise is a billionaire \u2013 or at least a multimillionaire \u2013 who has made or inherited a fortune in another industry or profession before buying a stake in a team (or two). These big shots are judged by fans based on their team\u2019s wins and losses. But this list asks a different question: How involved and how influential are New York\u2019s pro sports owners in the world of politics and government?<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=185\">Talk of open primaries dominates first COGE hearing<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>James Dolan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Knicks and New York Rangers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>James Dolan\u2019s Knicks are finally in the NBA Finals, and he must also be pleased with the White House\u2019s plan for Penn Station, which keeps Madison Square Garden right where it is. Dolan, whose company recently moved to split the Knicks and the NHL\u2019s Rangers into separate companies, also funds a super PAC that backs city and state legislative candidates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Steve Cohen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Mets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Steve Cohen just snatched one of three lucrative downstate casino licenses, facilitated no doubt by the millions of dollars he spent on an army of lobbyists. The billionaire also spends lavishly on his New York Mets, but the team hasn\u2019t enjoyed the same success.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Woody Johnson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Jets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Woody Johnson has acknowledged he needs to turn things around with the beleaguered Jets. But on the political front, he\u2019s thriving. The GOP donor was previously U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom and helped Donald Trump return to the White House last year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hal Steinbrenner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Yankees<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Hal Steinbrenner has yet to match the legacy of his late father, George Steinbrenner, who won seven World Series titles and was a mentor to Donald Trump. The iconic Bronx ballclub still has ties to Trump, who attended a home game last year on 9\/11.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Terry Pegula<\/strong><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Terry Pegula bought the NHL\u2019s Buffalo Sabres in 2011 and acquired the NFL\u2019s Buffalo Bills a few years later \u2013\u00a0earning the ire of rival Bills bidder Donald Trump. Now, Pegula is preparing to open his new heavily state-subsidized stadium this fall.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=183\">Does a late state budget really mean a less productive legislative session?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>6<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jon Ledecky &amp; Scott Malkin<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Co-Owners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Islanders<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, who were roommates at Harvard, took ownership of the Islanders in 2014. Ledecky, a private equity investor, has donated to Democratic candidates, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Laura Gillen. Malkin comes from a prominent real estate family.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>John Mara<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Giants<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>John Mara has kept busy lately for the Giants, despite a cancer diagnosis last fall. The team hired John Harbaugh as coach and saw Steve Tisch, a member of the politically connected Tisch family, step down as co-owner amid scrutiny of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Joe Tsai &amp; Clara Wu Tsai<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Co-Owners<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Joe Tsai bought the WNBA\u2019s Liberty in early 2019 and acquired the NBA\u2019s Nets later that year. The Alibaba co-founder, who owns both teams with his wife, Clara Wu Tsai, is occasionally engaged in international politics on Chinese issues.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York City FC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan isn\u2019t often mentioned in connection with New York City FC, the MLS team set to play at a new Queens stadium next year. But the United Arab Emirates official also owns Manchester City in England.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Red Bull GmbH<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Owner<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Red Bulls<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Unlike many professional sports teams, the Red Bulls MLS squad is owned by a company \u2013\u00a0the Austrian energy drink company Red Bull GmbH, of course. The club plays in Harrison, New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=181\">Opinion: Why the Yankees are the real working-class team of New York City<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not just about wins and losses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":186,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,30],"tags":[21,7,31],"class_list":["post-187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york-city","category-new-york-state","category-personality","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-state","tag-personality"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential? - Business Relocation Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential? - Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s not just about wins and losses.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Business Relocation Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-10T09:13:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"headline\":\"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T09:13:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187\"},\"wordCount\":652,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"New York City\",\"New York State\",\"Personality\"],\"articleSection\":[\"New York City\",\"New York State\",\"Personality\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187\",\"name\":\"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential? - Business Relocation Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-10T09:13:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?p=187#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Business Relocation Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/businessrelocationdigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential? - Business Relocation Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential? - Business Relocation Digest","og_description":"It\u2019s not just about wins and losses.","og_url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187","og_site_name":"Business Relocation Digest","article_published_time":"2026-06-10T09:13:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0"},"headline":"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential?","datePublished":"2026-06-10T09:13:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187"},"wordCount":652,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg","keywords":["New York City","New York State","Personality"],"articleSection":["New York City","New York State","Personality"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187","name":"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential? - Business Relocation Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-10T09:13:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/bfeac0436d786f8734074899efb94f11.jpg","width":400,"height":400},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=187#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Which New York sports team owners are the most politically influential?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/","name":"Business Relocation Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3174a35dc160ba2a2c93ee7892afb9e0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}