With Michigan voters set to decide between Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, a new review of campaign finance records shows the owners of major American sports franchises have overwhelmingly lined up behind Rogers.
Front Office Sports (FOS) examined Federal Election Commission filings and found at least ten principal owners of major sports franchises have donated to Rogers or the political action committees supporting him. By contrast, El-Sayed’s campaign has drawn only two donations connected to professional sports, and neither came from a team’s principal owner. Those gifts came from San Diego Padres pitcher Lucas Giolito and Jennifer Pritzker, a minority owner of the Chicago Stars.
The biggest single contribution identified came from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who gave $100,000 to the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund, a super PAC organized to back Rogers. That PAC has spent more than $20 million on advertising this election cycle, all of it directed at the Michigan Senate race. Kraft had earlier given $3,500 to Rep. Haley Stevens, the Democrat whom El-Sayed narrowly defeated in the August primary. A representative for Kraft did not respond when asked for comment.
Other owners who contributed to the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund include Bidwill, who gave $5,000; Kendrick, who gave $5,000; Dan DeVos, who gave $5,000; and Haslam, who gave $3,000.
Money also came in from well-connected figures in sports who don’t own franchises outright. Ben Navarro, who owns the Cincinnati and Charleston tennis tournaments and is the father of WTA top-30 player Emma Navarro, donated $500,000 to the Great Lakes Conservatives Fund. Casey Wasserman, chairperson and president of the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, gave $25,000 directly to Rogers’ campaign.
On the Democratic side, Giolito’s donation to El-Sayed totaled $1,250. Pritzker gave $7,000 to the El-Sayed campaign and an additional $565 to Rebellion PAC, a group founded by commentator Cenk Uygur.
FOS noted that owners of Michigan’s own professional sports teams appear to have sat the race out, with no donations to either candidate found in the records reviewed.
Michigan voters head to the polls Tuesday to settle the race.
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