Rams Co-Owners Sign Agreement To Sell Team To Shahid Khan

Khan Will Purchase 60% Of Rams Owned By Rosenbloom, Rodriguez

Rams co-Owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez "have entered into a signed agreement to sell the team to" Illinois-based auto-parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate President Shahid Khan, according to sources cited by Bernie Miklasz of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Sources said that Khan "will purchase the 60[%] of the team owned by" Rosenbloom and Rodriguez, but it is unclear if Rams investor Stan Kroenke "plans to retain" his 40% stake. Sources said that if Kroenke "wants to be bought out," Khan is "likely to do so, and that would make him" the 100% owner. Kroenke has the "right of first refusal to buy the Rosenbloom-Rodriguez 60[%], but current NFL rules barring cross ownership prevent Kroenke from taking over as the team's majority owner." Meanwhile, league sources said that Khan is an "enthusiastic Rams fan who has attended home games at the Edward Jones Dome," and that he is "committed to keeping the team in St. Louis -- and that was an important consideration to Rosenbloom and Rodriguez in making their decision to sell to him." The Rams "will probably be able to vacate their lease agreement after the 2014 season," but sources said that Khan is "willing to work with local leaders in an effort to assure the team's long-term future." Khan reportedly has "special feelings for St. Louis because he arrived in St. Louis early in his life when his parents moved to the United States from Pakistan" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 2/11). In St. Louis, Howard Balzer reports it is "not known whether Khan has any other partners" in his purchase of the team. Meanwhile, there is a "question of how the owners will view tax issues Khan has had with the IRS," as over a period of several years, Khan and his wife Ann "were investigated for allegedly sheltering hundreds of millions of dollars from income tax" (GLOBE-DEMOCRAT.com, 2/11).