Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. emerges as potential buyer of the Tampa Bay Rays

Legendary 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. could be back in the sports ownership game.

Recently, TheAthletic.com reported that his family is interested in buying the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball, if they end up being for sale. On Thursday, the team potentially moved closer to a sale when current Rays owner Stu Sternberg walked away from a $1.3 billion stadium deal.

Under the agreement, the team would have contributed $700 million. It also would have been on the hook for all cost overruns.

The move is expected to increase pressure on Sternberg to sell the team.

DeBartolo, 78, bought the 49ers in 1977. In 1998, he pleaded guilty to failing to report a felony, after former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards allegedly demanded $400,000 from DeBartolo for a riverboat casino license. (DeBartolo received a presidential pardon in 2020.) He was barred from active ownership for a year; he later transferred control of the 49ers to his sister, Denise DeBartolo York. DeBartolo’s nephew, Jed York, currently runs the team.

The Rays will play in 2025 at George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring home of the Yankees, because Tropicana Field was decimated by a hurricane last year.