“King” Derrick Henry is making money moves during the NFL offseason as he joins Nashville Soccer Club ownership group. The Tennessee Titans All-Pro running back is a minority owner along with Nashville native and actor, producer and founder Reese Witherspoon and media and technology investor Jim Toth.
Derrick Henry joins the ownership group as the most recognizable sports names in Nashville at this moment. Henry becomes only the fourth NFL player in history to serve as an owner of an MLS team.
Henry is now the fourth NFL player to join an MLS ownership group. The other three include Mark Ingram (D.C. United), Patrick Mahomes (Sporting Kansas City), and Russell Wilson (Seattle Sounders FC).
“As a kid growing up in Florida, I imagined being a professional sports owner and the opportunity to do that with a Major League Soccer club is truly a dream come true,” Henry said.
“My investment in Nashville SC is way more than financial, it’s truly an investment in the city of Nashville,” he continued. “The chance to be part of a club like Nashville SC, especially after seeing what they are accomplishing in the community, was an opportunity I did not want to miss.”
“As a Tennessee native, it is thrilling to see how much growth and development has come to our home state. One of the things that my whole family is most excited about is Nashville Soccer Club! The opportunity to go as a family and watch a world class team compete has been such an incredible experience,” Witherspoon said.
Witherspoon continued, “The team, the management and the players have worked so hard to build this amazing organization and community. So, I’m thrilled to announce that my husband, Jim Toth, and I have made an investment in the club and are now a part of the ownership group moving forward. On behalf of Jim and our children, we are thrilled to be a part of the NSC family!”
“We meant it when we said we were doing this in Nashville, with Nashville and for Nashville,” said Ingram. “Having Derrick, Reese and Jim join our group signals our commitment to being a club that is going to do things at the highest level and with the best Nashville has to offer.”
GEODIS Park is the largest soccer specific stadium in the U.S. and Canada, and has many features and attributes few other stadiums possess.
MLS ownership is becoming increasingly popular among NFL players. This is a very smart investment move on Henry’s part.