Has Sheila Hamp finally quieted the ‘sell the team’ Detroit Lions fans?
For years, Detroit Lions fans have wanted the Fords to sell the team. Has Sheila Hamp finally changed that?
For decades upon decades, a certain portion of the Detroit Lions fanbase has carried a three-word phrase with them. “Sell. The. Team.”
The Lions under Ford ownership has undeniably been one of the worst franchises in the NFL. Ever since William Clay Ford Sr. bought controlling ownership of the team in 1964, the Lions have amassed a 372-523-15 record—or a 41.7 win percentage. In the 58 seasons under Ford ownership, the Lions have played in just 13 playoff games and won just a single one.
When Ford Sr. passed in 2014, his wife Martha Firestone Ford took over ownership. Initially, there was optimism that she was taking the team in a different direction, but after the disastrous Matt Patricia era, the “Sell the team,” chants only grew louder.
But Martha stepped down as owner in 2020, bequeathing the team to her daughter Sheila Hamp. And since then, the narrative around Ford ownership has started to shift. Hamp quickly disposed of the Patricia era, and then composed one of the more thorough general manager searches we’ve seen in Detroit, while concurrently looking for the team’s next head coach.
She didn’t do it alone, though. She recruited the help of former Lions linebacker Chris Spielman, who now holds a unique, but drastically important role in the franchise. While time will tell whether Hamp chose the right people in Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes, the early returns have been overwhelmingly positive. In just two years on the job, the Lions have morphed from a franchise starting on the ground floor of a rebuild to a Lions team that has some believing they’re a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Around SB Nation this week, they are gauging where fanbases are with ownership. Several fanbases have been looking for new ownership for years. And while the Lions were among those franchises for decades, I am very curious to see where things stand today.
Below, vote if you want Lions ownership to sell the team or not.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Detroit Lions fans and fans across the country.
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