Stan Kroenke, the owner of Arsenal and the recently rebranded LA Rams, is again the focus of a controversy involving his NFL franchise.
Having instigated the movement and renaming of the team from the St Louis Rams to the LA Rams, Kroenke ‘might be trying to back away’ from a promise he made to a multi-million-dollar legal expense relating to the move.
Other NFL owners are said to have been ‘angered’ by the news sources told ESPN who broke the story in the early hours of this morning. The report included that John Mara of the New York Giants had said that if Kroenke had not agreed to indemnify the league they would not have voted for him to move.
From an Arsenal perspective, this business is very separate from Kroenke’s ownership of the club. The potential discussions around whether this affects the chances of him selling the north London side, as a result, are very slim.
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s recent approaches to buy Arsenal were rebuffed by Josh Kroenke, son of Stan Kroenke and a club director, who was detailed saying that they were in no need of financial gain from the sale.
"Inaccurate reports emerged today saying I have not made a bid for Arsenal Football Club," Ek wrote on Twitter back in May. "I think it's important to correct the record - this week an offer was made to both Josh Kroenke and their bankers that included fan ownership, representation at board and a golden share for the supporter.
"They replied that they don’t need the money.
"I remain interested should that situation ever change."
With Stan Kroenke reportedly looking to challenge this agreement and back out of paying further legal expenses, could this be a sign that his financial muscle isn’t as bottomless as it seemed?
Josh Kroenke previously said in a Fans Forum that they had ‘big plans’ to invest in the club after the Super League fiasco which saw Arsenal become a founding club and then back out of just days later.
If Arsenal’s owner is unsuccessful in his challenge of this indemnification agreement and must continue paying the legal expenses, then the likelihood of seeing investment in Arsenal is a debate that will surely resurface.
So far Arsenal have bought players through their own means with no funds coming directly from their owners. The club is spending big and had their most expensive summer to date in 2022.
Yet, supporters have wanted to see ambition and investment from Stan and Josh Kroenke. The hope being in combination with what the club's doing itself could see Arsenal rival the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea who both have seen financial aid from their owners.
Although with these recent occurrences that appears very much a fantasy.
Make sure you have subscribed to The Arsenal Way! The Fan Brands team along with plenty of your football.london favourites will be producing daily Arsenal content for you to enjoy including match reactions, podcasts, football fun and interviews. You can follow Tom Canton from the TAW team to keep up to date with his work.
