Storm legend Sue Bird joins the team’s ownership group
By Christan Braswell
Seattle, WA - Winners win. Seattle Storm icon Sue Bird knows a thing or two about it.
After winning five gold Olympic medals and four WNBA championships, the 13-time All-Star has joined the Storm’s ownership group, Force 10 Hoops, the team announced Wednesday.
Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird during the 2022 WNBA season, the final campaign of her playing career. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Lisa Leslie of the Los Angeles Sparks was the first former WNBA player to join a team ownership group in 2011. Bird's former teammate Renee Montgomery was part of the group that purchased the Atlanta Dream in 2021.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sue into the ownership group after a storied career on the court. Her knowledge of the game and the league, her ever-expanding business acumen, and her dedication to the Storm organization make her a superb addition to the ownership group. ”
Retired Seattle Storm point guard Sue Bird was present courtside at multiple games last season, in addition to having her jersey retired by the team. (Photos by Liz Wolter)
Force 10 Hoops is a consortium of three Seattle businesswomen and former season ticket holders — Dawn Trudeau, Lisa Brummel, and Ginny Gilder — that purchased the Storm in 2008 for $10 million, preventing the team from following the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City.
Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that Seattle had sold minority ownership stakes at a historic $151 million valuation as part of the effort to raise capital for the team's new practice facility and headquarters, which opened last week.
Selected with Seattle's No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 WNBA draft, she played 19 seasons with the Storm and was with the team for 21 of the franchise’s first 23 seasons. Bird retired as the WNBA’s all-time leading assist leader, finishing her career with 3,234 assists. Between her first overall selection in the 2002 WNBA Draft and her retirement in 2022, the Storm have gone 392-308, made the playoffs 18 times, and won four championships.
“As a player, I poured my heart into every game for the Seattle Storm, and now, as part of the ownership group, I am thrilled to continue contributing to the growth of the game. Investing in women’s sports isn’t just about passion; it’s smart business. It’s about recognizing the immense talent, dedication, and market potential our league has always had. Force 10 Hoops and the Storm have been at the forefront of this for decades. Together, we’re not just shaping the future of basketball, but also paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive society.”
Retired Seattle Storm point guard during her jersey retirement ceremony last season at Climate Pledge Arena, June 11th, 2023. (Photo by Scott Eklund/NBAE/Getty Images)
With her ties to the city of Seattle and the Storm, Bird was asked if ownership was in her future after the team retired her No. 10 jersey last June.
"Not right now, but ownership is definitely something that I would love to consider and be a part of at some point," she said.
For 19 years, Bird had a front-row seat viewing how franchises and leagues work and how they don't. She knows that growth and loss are part of business, and professional sports are, at their core, business. Throughout her career, Bird has seen six franchises fold. Three relocated (two did it twice), and two expansion teams joined the league.
She has also been involved in four collective bargaining agreements between the WNBA and the players' union, the WNBPA. In 2018, Bird joined the front office of the NBA’s Denver Nuggets as a basketball operations associate. Her role was rooted in learning the ins and outs of running a professional sports team in a leadership capacity.
In 2021, Bird co-founded a multimedia and commerce company, TOGETHXR, with fellow athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, and Simone. In 2022, she joined the NWSL’s Gotham FC leadership group. Now, she’s a co-owner of the team where she spent her entire WNBA career, two accomplishments very few can claim.
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