Drew Carey Invested In The Seattle Sounders When The Soccer Club Was Worth $30 Million… Today The Team Is Worth Just Under $1 Billion

Drew Carey has made an enormous amount of money during his television career.

Between 2001 and 2004, he earned $750,000 per episode of "The Drew Carey Show." That's the same as earning around $1 million per episode today. He filmed 79 episodes at that rate, which works out to $59,250,000 (before inflation) for those last three seasons. With inflation, that's the same as making around $105 million today. And he's still earning big money! Today, Drew makes $12.5 million per year hosting "The Price Is Right." But one of the smartest financial decisions of his career had nothing to do with television.

He invested in the Seattle Sounders.

Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images

The $30 Million Bet

In 2007, Major League Soccer awarded an expansion franchise to a group led by businessman Adrian Hanauer and Hollywood producer Joe Roth. The ownership group also included Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Vulcan Sports & Entertainment and Drew Carey.

The group paid a $30 million expansion fee. The Seattle Sounders began playing in MLS in 2009.

Carey was not brought in merely as a celebrity face. A devoted soccer fan, he insisted that supporters should have a formal voice in the organization. His idea became the Sounders FC Alliance, a membership organization whose participants can vote on whether the club's general manager should retain his job. Carey serves as the Alliance's chairman.

He also pushed for the creation of Sound Wave, the Sounders' marching band. From the beginning, Carey helped give the team an identity unlike anything else in American professional soccer.

One Of The Most Successful Clubs In MLS

The Sounders quickly justified their owners' investment.

Seattle won the U.S. Open Cup in each of its first three MLS seasons and captured the trophy again in 2014. The club also won the 2014 Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup championships in 2016 and 2019.

In 2022, Seattle won the Concacaf Champions League, becoming the first MLS team to win the modern version of the continental championship. Three years later, the Sounders defeated Lionel Messi and Inter Miami 3-0 in the Leagues Cup final.

That victory gave Seattle its ninth major trophy and made it the first MLS club to win all five major North American soccer prizes: MLS Cup, the Supporters' Shield, the U.S. Open Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup, and Leagues Cup.

Success on the field created a passionate fan base, strong attendance, national visibility, and an increasingly valuable franchise.

The Ownership Group Expands

In 2019, founding owner Joe Roth sold his interest and 11 Seattle-area families joined the ownership group. The newcomers included former Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, his wife Ciara, rapper Macklemore, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and several prominent technology and media executives.

At the time, Sounder at Heart reported that Carey had owned 7.5% of the club before the transaction. Majority owner Adrian Hanauer said Carey's percentage increased as part of the restructuring, although the exact size of his new stake was never publicly disclosed.

That means 7.5% is the best publicly reported starting point. Carey's actual share may be closer to 10%.

2022 Valuation

When we first wrote about Carey's investment in 2022, a recent limited-partner sale of a 3% to 5% stake gave us an unusually concrete valuation.

The transaction valued the Seattle Sounders at $680 million

At that valuation, a 7.5% interest was worth $51 million. A 10% interest was worth $68 million.

Whatever Carey originally invested, it was almost certainly a small fraction of those figures. Remember, the entire ownership group paid only $30 million for the expansion franchise.

And the team's value continued climbing.

The Sounders Are Now Approaching $1 Billion

In February 2025, Sportico estimated the Sounders were worth $825 million.

One year later, Sportico raised its valuation estimate to $915 million

That made Seattle the sixth-most-valuable team in MLS.

If the Sounders were placed on the market today, a valuation of at least $1 billion would be entirely plausible.

What Is Drew Carey's Stake Worth?

At a $915 million valuation, a 7.5% stake would be worth approximately:

$68.6 million

A 10% stake would be worth approximately:

$91.5 million

At a $1 billion valuation, a 7.5% stake would be worth $75 million, while a 10% interest would be worth $100 million.

MLS Team Values Are Exploding

The Sounders' rise is part of a much larger surge in Major League Soccer valuations.

Sportico estimated the combined value of MLS teams at $22.59 billion in 2026, with an average franchise value of approximately $767 million. Five clubs were valued at $1 billion or more.

Inter Miami, co-owned by David Beckham and powered by Messi's arrival, ranked first at $1.45 billion.

LAFC, whose ownership group has included Will Ferrell and Magic Johnson, ranked second at $1.4 billion.

Austin FC, whose part-owners include Matthew McConaughey, was valued at $910 million, just behind Seattle.

The league's long-term streaming partnership with Apple has also put every MLS match on a global platform without local blackouts. Beginning with the 2026 season, every match was included with a standard Apple TV subscription instead of requiring a separate MLS Season Pass.

The Sounders have also benefited from being one of the league's most consistently successful teams, playing in a major market with a loyal fan base and a history of filling Lumen Field for important matches.