There was a time when owners of sports teams had their hands full with just the one team, shunning the temptation to keep adding more and more to their sports business ledger.
However, as the potential for lucrative synergies across leagues and sports have become apparent, more wealthy owners are beginning to branch out beyond their comfort zones to acquire teams and organizations across a breadth of sports and continents.
The financial power behind AEW, Shahid Khan, is one of these trailblazers, having started out in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars, only to then go on to found the AEW, as well as taking on the responsibility of overseeing the running of Fulham Football Club in London, England.
In this article we look at how the move into soccer came about for Khan, as well as the benefits it could bring to his son, Tony, who runs AEW, and its wrestlers in the future.
How long will it be before Premier League soccer players are donning Lucha Libre masks and doing goal celebrations from the top turnbuckle?
The Fulham Connection
For those who do not know, Fulham Football Club is one of the oldest soccer clubs in the UK, founded all the way back in 1879.
These days the club plays in the big leagues, appearing alongside the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool on the Premier League moneylines.
The connections between the founding fathers of the AEW and the soccer club all started back in 2013 when Shahid Khan took control of Fulham.
His results orientated approach and ruthless hiring and firing strategies made for as much drama in English soccer as there is in AEW. His head coach merry go round does now appear to be reaping benefits, with Fulham fighting hard to beat the Premier League betting odds, which are often stacked against them. One thing for sure is that Shahid Khan will keep them bolstered with cash as well as some hardy AEW fighting spirit to boot.
Shahid Khan added Fulham to his sports portfolio back in 2013 and has high hopes for the club to one day reach the lucrative Champions League
What Can Soccer Bring to AEW?
For most wrestling fans in the US, it is hard to see how a seemingly minor soccer team from across the Atlantic can give too much of a helping hand to their favorite wrestling franchise.
However, savvy businessmen like Khan know that with the world being more connected than ever before, it is important that brands have a global reach rather than just a domestic one.
Soccer is a huge sport outside of the US, with the Premier League being one of the most widely viewed sports leagues on the planet, with huge audiences in Asia, South America, and Europe.
As Khan begins to roll out co-promotional deals between the soccer club and AEW, expect the stock of both to rise significantly, as their audiences diversify and grow in multiple territories.
The value of this can be seen with how the WWE continuously tours around Europe and reaches out to established sports clubs there with co-promotional deals and tie-ins, ensuring that their brand is the one people turn to when they want to see elbow drops and tombstone piledrivers.
Not Forgetting the Jacksonville Jags
If there is one part of this sporting trifecta that is slightly letting the team down it is the lowly Jags, who currently sit bottom of the AFC South.
All AEW fans should really start praying that the Jags can get back somewhere near their form of 2017, when they reached the NFL playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
After all, imagine a team of Super Bowl winners standing shoulder to shoulder with AEW wrestlers, thrusting both onto the world stage in the process!
That is most certainly the dream that Khan and his associates will have in mind, with a Premier League title or two thrown in for good measure. It is now up to the athletes across all three sports to start performing!
