The latest reminder from the Titans that the team still isn’t for sale came not only from interim CEO/president Steve Underwood but also from Kenneth Adams IV. As noted by David Climer of the Tennessean, some see that as the first step in the emergence of the grandson of team founder Bud Adams as the face of the franchise’s ownership.
The problem, as Climer notes, is that the 31-year-old Adams owns only 11 percent of the team. His brother, Barclay, and mother, Susan Lewis, also own 11 percent -- which came from the 33 percent of the team that was earmarked for the late Kenneth Adams III, son of Bud Adams.
Amy Adams Strunk and Susie Adams Smith, the daughters of Bud Adams, also own 33 percent each.
The end result is the absence of one clear voice to run the team. Which creates the perception that the organization isn’t stable. Which invites speculation that, for the right offer, the various members of the Adams family would opt to cash out in lieu of having one of them figure out how to buy the others out.
The truth could be that none of them individually have the resources to emerge as the clear owner. Which means that it makes plenty of sense, if they really aren’t selling, to find someone who would play the role of owner -- even if he doesn’t personally own enough of the team to actually be the owner.
Regardless, the situation likely isn’t sustainable over the long haul, especially as the 33-percent shares held by Strunk and Smith pass to their children and become further diluted. Which could be the main reason for the lingering rumors of a sale of the team and the ongoing efforts of the five owners to dispel those rumors.
Even if current ownership is simply trying to prevent someone from thinking that the team could be purchased cheaply, a long-term solution that consolidates equity and power in one person is needed, sooner than later.
