Detroit Lions owner history: Full list and timeline

The 2024 season will be the 95th in Detroit Lions' franchise history, and the 91st season in Detroit after the team started as the Portsmouth Spartans. Over that long history, the franchise has only had seven people at the top of the proverbial letterhead, and two of them spanned the same timeframe as partial owners. Of course a big part of the reason the Lions have only had seven principal owners is clear. The Ford family has been involved with the team since 1961, starting in 1961 with William Clay Ford Sr., who eventually became principal owner. His widow Martha Firestone Ford took over in 2014, and their daughter Sheila Ford Hamp became principal owner in 2020. Over four years as the principal owner and chairman (almost exactly, June 23,2020), Hamp has changed the long-running narrative around the Lions, hiring competent people in key football positions and giving them all they need to foster success on the field. "Sell The Team" had been a long-running thing with Lions' fans, even right to the announcem