Clark Knobel Hunt (born February 19, 1965) is part owner,
chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...
and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...
's
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division.
The t ...
and a founding investor-owner in
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
. Hunt is chairman of Hunt Sports Group, where he oversees the operations of the Chiefs,
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
and, formerly, the
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
of MLS. He is the son of Chiefs founder
Lamar Hunt, and the grandson of oil tycoon
H.L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon. By trading poker winnings for oil rights according to legend, but more likely through money he gained from successful speculation in oil leases, he ...
.
Following the death of his father in 2006, Hunt, his mother, and his siblings inherited legal ownership of the Chiefs. However, as chairman and CEO, Clark is the public face of the ownership group and operating head of the franchise, representing the Chiefs at all owners meetings.
Under Hunt's leadership, the Chiefs have made the playoffs eight times, won the AFC West 6 times, and appeared in two Super Bowls, winning one.
Early life and education
Hunt was born on February 19, 1965. He is the son of
Lamar Hunt and the grandson of oil tycoon
H.L. Hunt
Haroldson Lafayette Hunt Jr. (February 17, 1889 – November 29, 1974) was an American oil tycoon. By trading poker winnings for oil rights according to legend, but more likely through money he gained from successful speculation in oil leases, he ...
.
His father had founded the Chiefs in 1960 as the Dallas Texans, a charter member of the
American Football League
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
, and moved them to Kansas City two years before Clark was born.
After graduating from
St. Mark's School of Texas, he graduated from
Southern Methodist University
, mottoeng = " The truth will make you free"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = SACS
, academic_affiliations =
, religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church
, president = R. Gerald Turner
, p ...
in 1987, where he was a captain of SMU's nationally ranked
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team and a two-time Academic All-American. Hunt earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in finance.
Hunt worked for two years as an investment banker with
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, Ho ...
. He then returned to Dallas and worked with his father.
Sports career
Major League Soccer and Wizards
One of the driving forces behind the creation of
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
, Hunt helped his father run the
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse a ...
until the team was sold in 2006.
Hunt remains a member of the league's board of governors and owns the MLS club,
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...
, and previously owned the
Columbus Crew
The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...
until 2013.
Start with Kansas City Chiefs (2005–2008)
Hunt was named chairman of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2005. Following the death of his father in 2006, he, his sister, and two brothers inherited ownership of the Chiefs.
However, Hunt is the operating head of the franchise; he represents the Chiefs at owners' meetings and has the final say on personnel changes.
After the Chiefs' loss to the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...
in the 2007 season finale, Chiefs general manager
Carl Peterson
Carl D. Peterson (born May 26, 1943) For more than 50 years, Carl Peterson was a creative force in the world of American Football, starting at the high school level, through small college ball, to major college football, and on to professional fo ...
announced that both he and head coach
Herm Edwards
Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Ph ...
would return to the Chiefs in 2008.
However, Hunt declined to immediately comment on Peterson's status.
Hunt spoke out weeks later and stated that the Chiefs were his "No. 1 priority"
and that "to have the best chance of success in 2008, having Carl here makes a lot of sense."
Hunt wanted to avoid having a new general manager come in with a new head coach, and starting from scratch again.
On December 15, Hunt announced the resignation of Peterson from his positions as general manager, president, and CEO of the franchise effective the end of the season.
Prior to the decision, the Chiefs had a combined record of 9–24 under Hunt's leadership since December 23, 2006.
The official press release stated that Peterson resigned, but Hunt had said the conversation had been ongoing throughout the season.
Hunt said his decision to relieve Peterson of duties was not based on what happened the previous day, when the Chiefs lost an 11-point lead in the final 73 seconds and were beaten 22–21 by San Diego, dropping their record to 2–12 on the season.
He also said that the fate of head coach
Herm Edwards
Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Ph ...
would be settled after the season when a new general manager would be hired.
Hunt said he would split the duties previously held by Peterson and have someone in charge of the business side and someone else in charge of football for the franchise.
Hunt had kept his search for a new general manager almost entirely leakproof, instructing subordinates that only he was to speak to the situation.
[ ]
Columbus Crew win (2008)
Under Hunt, Columbus Crew won their first
MLS Cup
The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...
championship on November 23, 2008.
In 2013, Hunt Sports Group sold the Columbus Crew to Precourt Sports Ventures, led by
Anthony Precourt.
First Chiefs appointments (2009)
On January 13, 2009 Hunt hired
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
vice president of player personnel
Scott Pioli as the new Chiefs general manager. On January 23 the Chiefs fired head coach
Herman Edwards,
and
Todd Haley was hired as his replacement on February 6.
Chiefs seasons (2009–2012)
Haley's
first season did not go well, but he did a lot better in his
second season. Hunt fired Haley on December 12, 2011, after the
Chiefs had compiled a 5–8 record during the 2011 NFL season. Even though the team won the
AFC West
The American Football Conference – Western Division or AFC West is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division comprises the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, ...
the
year before Haley was replaced by defensive coordinator
Romeo Crennel
Romeo Crennel (born June 18, 1947) is a former American football coach, who was the senior advisor for football performance for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A former long-time coaching assistant to Bill Parcells, Cr ...
mid-season. Crennel finished his stint as interim head coach with a 2–1 record, including a win over the previously undefeated, and defending Super Bowl Champions (
2011 Green Bay Packers season). On January 9, 2012, Hunt named Crennel the team's permanent head coach. The
2012 Chiefs finished with a 2–14 record, which was the worst in the league and for the first time in franchise history the Chiefs were set to have the first pick in the upcoming
Draft. Hunt fired both general manager Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel following the disastrous
2012 season.
Andy Reid and John Dorsey hirings (2013)
The
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
decided not to renew head coach
Andy Reid
Andrew Walter Reid (born March 19, 1958) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). Reid was previously head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999 to 2012. From 200 ...
's contract after a
4–12, the worst of his 13-year tenure. He began exercising other head coaching opportunities and was highly coveted due to his success. During his 13 years in Philadelphia, Reid went 130–93–1 and made the playoffs 9 times (including one
Super Bowl
appearance). Even though there were 8 available head coaching jobs, Reid chose the Chiefs because he had a lot of respect for the Hunt family and the Chiefs Organization. On January 4, 2013 Hunt hired Reid to a 5-year contract. Originally Hunt was going to give Reid full control over all football operations (a similar arrangement to what he had in Philadelphia), but on January 13, 2013, Hunt hired
John Dorsey as general manager. Previous to this Dorsey had no general manager experience but was the Director of Football Operations for the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
and had also worked as a scout in Green Bay. Dorsey and Reid both worked for the Packers from 1992 to 1998 so they had been very familiar with each other. Hunt announced that Reid and Dorsey would have equal say in football operations.
Chiefs return to success (2013–2017)
The
2013 Chiefs bounced back and finished 11–5, making the playoffs but losing to the
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...
in the first round of the playoffs. The Chiefs failed to make the playoffs the following year but did still finish the
2014 season with a winning record at 9–7. In 2015, Reid's third year the Chiefs improved on their 9–7 record and finished the
2015 season with a 11–5 record. 2015 saw the Chiefs win their first playoff game in Hunt's tenure and the first for the franchise since
1993, when they defeated the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...
in the wild card round of the
playoffs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eit ...
. The Chiefs however lost in the second round to the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
ending their season. The
2016 Chiefs finished with a 12–4 record, the best of Hunt's tenure as head of the franchise and won the AFC West for the second time in his tenure. The Chiefs lost at home to the
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
in the divisional round of the
2016–17 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2016 NFL season began on Saturday, January 7, 2017. The postseason tournament concluded with Super Bowl LI on Sunday, February 5, 2017, when the New England Patriots defeated the Atlanta Falcons at NRG ...
. Hunt fired general manager John Dorsey on June 22, 2017 due to cap mismanagement. He then promoted Co-Director of Player Personnel
Brett Veach. The Chiefs won the AFC West again in
2017 and finished with a 10–6 record. They lost to the
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
in the first round of the
2017–18 NFL playoffs.
Path to Super Bowl (2018–present)
The
2018 Chiefs finished with a 12–4 record and clinched a first-round playoff bye for the
2018–19 NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs for the 2018 season began with the Wildcard Round on January 5, 2019, and concluded with Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 3, 2019, when the New England Patriots defe ...
. The Chiefs won in the divisional round and made the
AFC Championship
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. ...
for the first time since the 1993 season and were set to host it for the first time in franchise history. They lost in overtime to the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...
. In
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
the Chiefs finished with a 12–4 record and again hosted the AFC Championship game. This time however, the Chiefs won their first AFC Championship and brought home the
Lamar Hunt Trophy, which was named after his father. The Chiefs then went on to win
Super Bowl LIV, the second in their history and first in 50 years. In his Super Bowl LIV trophy acceptance speech, he paid homage to his father’s trophy acceptance speech 50 years prior stating "It’s a beautiful trophy and I cannot think of a more perfect way to end the NFL's 100th season than receiving this trophy." The only change from his father’s speech was Lamar said "...the AFL's 10th season..." The following season, the Chiefs finished 14–2, setting a franchise record for wins in a season. The Chiefs played in
Super Bowl LV
Super Bowl LV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2020 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the American Football Confere ...
, their second consecutive trip to the Super Bowl, but lost to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
9–31, which was the team's largest margin of defeat in 4 seasons.
NFL leadership
In addition to the on-field resurgence of the team, Hunt is a leading voice among NFL owners. In 2019, Hunt was named Chairman of the influential NFL Finance Committee after serving as a member for seven years. Hunt is a member and former chairman of the NFL International Committee, and he also serves on the Management Council’s Executive Committee (CEC) and the Personal Conduct Committee. Hunt was instrumental in securing the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement in 2011, and he was one of six members of the NFL Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities.
Personal life
He is married to Tavia Shackles, a former
Miss Missouri Teen USA and
Miss Kansas USA
The Miss Kansas USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state of Kansas in the Miss USA pageant. The pageant is directed by Vanbros and Associates, headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas. In 1992, the state joined the Va ...
. The couple have three children. His daughter Gracie, was named Miss Kansas USA in 2021, 28 years after her mother won the pageant. Hunt is a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
.
From 2016 to 2020, Hunt donated $53,675 to Republican candidates and causes.
See also
*
List of NFL franchise owners
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of current National Football League franchise owners:
Family ownership
Benson, Bidwill, McCaskey, Brown, Irsay, Hamp, Hunt, Mara, Davis, Rooney, Glazer, Spanos, York, and Adams-Strunk represent ownership ...
*
List of professional sports team owners
*
List of current National Football League staffs
*
List of Southern Methodist University people
This is a list of notable alumni, faculty, and students of Southern Methodist University. Those individuals who qualify for multiple categories have been placed under the section for which they are best known.
Notable alumni and attendees Politi ...
*
List of MLS franchise owners
*
List of people from Texas
*
Martha Firestone Ford
*
Notable alumni of St. Mark's School of Texas
*
Green Bay Packers Board of Directors
References
External links
Kansas City Chiefs BioPart one of article on ClarkPart two of article on Clark
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Clark
Living people
1965 births
Hunt family
Kansas City Chiefs owners
St. Mark's School (Texas) alumni
American soccer chairmen and investors
FC Dallas
Southern Methodist University alumni
SMU Mustangs men's soccer players
Association footballers not categorized by position
Association football players not categorized by nationality