"One eye on Red Bull" - Claim made on 49ers' long-haul Leeds United commitment | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit feels that the 49ers enterprises are set to stick around, at least for now

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds United will need to reach European competitions before the 49ers Enterprise can think about selling the club on to potential suitors.

That's the view of FLW's Leeds fan pundit, Ger Lynch, who feels that the current ownership is committed to Leeds United for the time being.

The investment arm of the American Football franchise, the San Francisco 49ers, are approaching two years as majority owners of the Championship club after they purchased a majority share in Leeds United ahead of the Whites' first season back in the second-tier in the 2023/24 season.

Currently, Leeds are yet to complete stage one of their plans on the field - to achieve promotion - and therefore, Ger feels that there is currently no point for the 49ers to look to walk away, or else they risk making a loss on their £170 million purchase in July 2023.

Investors "waiting for payday" at Leeds United

When asked whether he felt the Leeds United owners were in the project for the long haul, FLW fan pundit Ger believed that the 49ers are "committed right now [...] but I think they're in it for the medium-haul at the moment".

"I think the 49ers Enterprises model which they are doing, they'll need Leeds to be successful and at least get into European competitions before they think about selling the club on for a profit," he continued.

"Given the way they've structured the investment, given the American sports stars who also invested in the club, they're all waiting for payday at the moment and that's not going to come until we are a profitable club."

Olympic gold medal swimming champion Michael Phelps led the list of initial athlete investors in the club, alongside a number of NBA and NHL stars and multiple-time golf champions Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.

"If they walked away now they'd just lose their money. There's no point in selling now as they'd lose the initial investment and everything they've put into the club."

Red Bull may lurk in the wings for potential investment once Leeds United improve on-pitch

Ger told FLW that he feels that if Leeds are at a European level, "it's a case of having one eye on Red Bull and what their various plans will be going into the future".

The Austrian conglomerate purchased a minority stake in the club this past summer, as well as taking over as their front-of-shirt sponsor ahead of this season.

With the Red Bull brand owning clubs in Germany, Austria, America and Brazil, it would come as no surprise if the energy drink brand would venture further in its ownership of the English club.

However, for this to happen, they'll likely need to know that Leeds United can be a contending force at the top of English football, regularly playing in European competitions, which they currently are not.

And with Daniel Farke's side making hard work of getting out of the Championship, it may be a few years still until the 49ers see true profit in Leeds United.