JJ Watt made sent out a number of social media posts with and around the Utah Jazz. First he thanked Smith for letting him use team facilities. But some of his other posts raised the eyebrows of fans in Utah. The All-Pro defensive end who recently signed with the Arizona Cardinals was told to “Buy @realsaltlake while you’re here.”
Watt quickly replied saying “tell them to drop the asking price a bit. I want to bring the Royals back.” Suggesting he has already explored it. However, most interesting in his tweet was the revelation of his relationship with Ryan Smith. Smith, who recently purchased the Utah Jazz was considered a front runner to purchase RSL. But his Smith’s name quickly stopped circulating following his purchase. So now many wonder if he is putting an ownership group together with JJ Watt. Obviously, more names would need to be added but he has the connections to pull it off.
Further confirming their relationship Smith replied to Watt saying.
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake and the Royals who Watt mentioned were owned by Dell Roy Hansen. However, after playing in Utah from 2017-2020 the NWSL franchise was sold and relocated to Kansas City. Hansen also put Real Salt Lake up for sell after allegations of racism and sexism within the franchise. After being unable to find a buyer the MLS took on the job of negotiating the sale. The MLS has stated they hope to sell the franchise by the end of 2021.
Is Smith going to put his name back in the running for the Utah soccer club? It’s definitely not outside the realm of possibility for the Qualitrics owner. After the tweets from Watt it sounds like the groundwork is being done. Watt’s wife who is a star on the NWSL best team also has ties to Utah. She played soccer at Alta High School in Sandy, Utah. Put those two factors together and it is looking more and more possible the two may be planning a deal together.
Smith has already gained the favor of Utah sports fan in his year owning the Jazz. He also brought in other top investors for the Jazz franchise including Dwayne Wade. If Smith and Watt were to team up it would be an ownership group the RSL fans could trust.
