Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil Mimic Wrexham in Mexico Football Buy
Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil have a new passion project.
Griffin, a recently retired former NBA star, and Kalil, a former Pro Bowl NFL center, are leading a group that purchased a majority stake in the Monterrey Fundidores, a team in Mexico's pro American football league, Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). Kalil declined to provide financial details but said the group purchased the club for a seven-figure sum.
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'Players, like fans, can be critical of management and ownership and how they might run a team,' Kalil, who is also a limited partner of NWSL club Angel City FC, said in a video interview. 'I know I've been guilty of it. This was an opportunity for us to put our critical thoughts to the test and see if we know what we're talking about.'
The athlete-led ownership group includes Kalil's former Carolina Panthers teammates Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen, Jonathan Stewart and 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Julius Peppers. Former Panthers head coach Ron Rivera, San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey, tight end George Kittle and Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold—all former Panthers—are also in the ownership group. Rounding out the cap table are Barstool Sports personalities Dan 'Big Cat' Katz and Eric Sollenberger (PFT Commenter).
This is the latest collaboration between Griffin and Kalil, who are the co-founders of production house Mortal Media, founded in 2016. The Fundidores name will be rebranded to the Osos (Bears) as ownership looks to connect to a broader and more international audience. Additionally, Griffin and Kalil are planning to produce a behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling their ownership journey and the team's first season under new leadership.
'We haven't done a lot of sports-centric projects, especially in the unscripted space,' said Kalil, who wants to highlight the personal stories of the team's international players and coaches. 'We've been looking for something to do that would fit our creative acumen but also something that we're genuinely excited about. All facets of this check all the boxes.'
Griffin and Kalil are taking a page from actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, owners of former fifth-tier Welsh club Wrexham A.F.C. and brains behind the FX award-winning docuseries Welcome to Wrexham. It will be one of the newest projects for Mortal, which produced a White Men Can't Jump reboot (starring rapper Jack Harlow) and Hello Tomorrow! (a sci-fi comedy starring actor Billy Crudup). The production banner has allowed Griffin and Kalil to dive into Hollywood with their pro careers behind them.
Kalil, who says that the Osos documentary won't be released until next year most likely, was intrigued about the opportunity to not only be part of football again but also in a way that's more hands on than other limited ownership offers.
'The entry barrier for football at the highest level in the states is next to impossible unless you're Tom Brady,' Kalil said. 'Even if you did have that kind of money, you're just a passenger in that massive vehicle.'
It's not the first time that former NFL players have been involved with the Osos. Former Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Chad Johnson famously played one game for the team, then known as the Fundidores, in 2017, one year after it was founded. The Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional is only nine years old, but the federation has a long history with American football that dates back to the 1920s. The country's love for American football was popularized at local universities a century ago, which later led to the creation of its college league, ONEFA, founded in 1978.
The NFL, which considers Mexico one of its largest international markets outside of the U.S., played its first preseason game there in 1978 (and first regular season game in 2005). The Osos' new ownership group looks to tap into the growing interest in that market, which will see the return of NFL teams this coming season with another regular season game planned to be hosted at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca for the first time since 2022. Ten NFL teams also currently have marketing rights across Mexico where they can explore fan engagement and commercial opportunities as part of the league's ongoing globalization efforts.
There's no formal partnership right now between the leagues, but Kalil says that could be visited in the future. In the meantime, he's looking to channel his longtime background in pro football with his creative and business acumen.
'I've always said that I've been in the entertainment business on arguably one of the highest rated TV shows of all time in the NFL,' he added. 'This all fits within our [wheelhouse]. We try to look at things that get us excited.'
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