Is LeBron an owner of the Red Sox? An explainer

Lakers forward LeBron James dribbles and points during agame against the Indiana Pacers.

March 16, 2021 3:19 PM PT

Lakers star LeBron James has purchased an undisclosed amount of Fenway Sports Group shares, according to multiple media reports.

That means the NBA megastar is now a part owner of baseball’s Boston Red Sox and multiple other properties.

Here’s a quick explainer.

What is Fenway Sports Group?

FSG is the parent company to the Red Sox, the English Premier League’s Liverpool Football Club, the NESN television network, Roush Fenway Racing, Fenway Sports Management and more. The group started in 2002 with the acquisition of the Red Sox, Fenway Park and 80% of NESN.

Why is this historic news?

James and his longtime business partner, Maverick Carter, who also purchased shares of FSG, are the first Black partners in the company’s history, according to the Boston Globe, which was the first to break the news of James’ purchase.

So is LeBron in charge of the Red Sox now?

No. Boston Globe owner John Henry will remain in control of FSG, according to the Globe. Tom Werner remains FSG chairman and Michael Gordon is the company’s president. New York’s RedBird Capital Partners also just made a $750 million investment in FSG, giving it an 11% share of the firm.

Didn’t LeBron already own part of Liverpool FC?

Yes. He bought shares worth approximately 2% of the team in 2011.

Does LeBron have time for all this?

At age 36, James has won four NBA titles (including one last fall with the Lakers) and four league MVP awards, has scads of endorsements, runs a production company with Carter, owns multiple Blaze Pizza restaurants, has become extremely active in social and politcal causes, and still managed to find time to team up with Bugs Bunny and company in the upcoming movie “Space Jam 2.” It’s unclear what his role with FSG will be, but he has proven to be great at multitasking.