Sporting Kansas City owners sell majority stake in team. Here are the details
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Peter Mallouk acquired majority stake in Sporting Kansas City, valuation ~$700M.
- Illig family will retain daily club management and represent Sporting KC on MLS board.
- Club valued at about $700M; team has had several key staff changes in the past year.
Sporting Kansas City’s principal owners, including the Illig family, have agreed to sell their majority stake in the Major League Soccer team to Peter Mallouk, sources told The Star on Friday.
Mallouk is president and CEO of Creative Planning, a wealth advisory firm in Overland Park. He has owned a minority stake in the team since 2022. He also has investment in the Kansas City Royals.
When asked by The Star about Mallouk’s investment, Sporting KC said in a statement, “Peter Mallouk is now the majority shareholder of the club.”
In an additional statement, Sporting KC said the Illig family would continue to manage the club’s day-to-day operations and represent the team on the league’s board of governors.
The sale, which would give Mallouk majority but not sole ownership of the MLS club, valued the franchise at roughly $700 million, Forbes reported Friday. Last year, Forbes valued the club at $650 million, 16th out of the 30 Major League Soccer teams.
“We can confirm that there have been no changes in the management of the club, and no changes in the club’s ownership participation in MLS governance or league activities,” Sporting KC’s statement read. “The Illig family continues to lead the club’s shareholder group, manage the club day to day, and represent Sporting Kansas City on the MLS Board of Governors.”
OnGoal — Neal Patterson and Cliff Illig of Cerner, Pat Curran, Greg Maday and Robb Heineman — bought the then-Wizards from Lamar Hunt in 2006, preserving the MLS franchise’s place in Kansas City as players were bracing for the team to relocate.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes bought a minority stake in the team in 2021.
The OnGoal founding group rebranded the club to Sporting KC ahead of the 2011 season, when it opened its soccer-specific stadium, then known as Sporting Park, near Kansas Speedway at the Legends in Kansas City, Kansas.
They opened up a state-of-the-art training facility in 2018, which MLS commissioner Don Garber has propped up as a standard in the league.
Sporting KC’s ownership has played a vital role in the city securing World Cup games, which will be played at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this summer. Cliff Illig serves as a co-chair of the KC2026 committee, along with Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.
On the field, Sporting KC has endured significant change over the last year. Ten months ago, the club parted ways with longtime manager and technical director Peter Vermes.
Last fall, the club hired David Lee as general manager; and earlier this month, Sporting KC named Raphael Wicky as its new head coach.
Sporting KC opens its preseason schedule Saturday in West Palm Beach, Florida.
This story was originally published January 16, 2026 at 9:45 PM.