Jed York is expected to become the 49ers’ primary owner in a transaction intended to preserve the team in the York family for many generations.
According to a source who spoke with NBC Sports Bay Area, York would purchase enough stock from his mother Denise DeBartolo York to assume control as the league’s major owner, with other owners’ consent anticipated at the NFL Annual Meeting.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal broke the initial story on Monday about the upcoming title change.
York, 43, will stay in his role as CEO of the 49ers, which he has had since 2010, when he started managing the team’s business and football departments.
John York and Denise York, his parents, are still major 49ers shareholders. In 2023, the 49ers were valued at $6 billion by Forbes.
Jed York’s ownership stake in the 49ers is unknown, although according to SBJ, the family owns more than 95% of the team.
The 49ers boast five Super Bowl trophies in their trophy case, all of which were won while Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., Denise York’s brother, was its owner.
In 1997, DeBartolo resigned from his position as 49ers CEO and chair in anticipation of a Louisiana gambling fraud indictment.
DeBartolo entered a guilty plea to a felony charge of failing to report an extortion attempt in federal court the following year. Edwin Edwards, the former governor of Louisiana, is accused of extorting $400,000 from DeBartolo in exchange for a casino license.
Denise York acquired ownership of the 49ers in a 2000 settlement when the siblings divided their assets; DeBartolo never got it back.
DeBartolo Jr. was pardoned by then-President Donald Trump in 2020.
Since the Yorks acquired ownership of the team, the 49ers have participated in three Super Bowls and won six NFC West championships.
The 49ers are coming off a season in which they lost in overtime of Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, 25-22, to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Since general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan took over in 2017, the 49ers have seen the most stability at the top of the organization in almost thirty years.