Sheila Ford Hamp ( Sheila Firestone Ford; born October 31, 1951) is an American businesswoman and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

executive. A descendant of both the Ford and Firestone families, she is the principal owner and chairwoman of the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). Hamp graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1973, where she played varsity tennis, and has an MA in teaching and early childhood education from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

. She serves on the NFL's Super Bowl and Major Events Committee. Hamp had served as vice chairwoman of the Lions since 2014, and succeeded her mother Martha Firestone Ford on June 23, 2020. Sheila Firestone Ford was born to

William Clay Ford Sr. William Clay Ford Sr. (March 14, 1925 – March 9, 2014) was an American businessman who was on the boards of Ford Motor Company and the Edison Institute. Ford owned the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 until hi ...

(son of

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist, who was the only child of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor C ...

and grandson of

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...

) and Martha Firestone Ford, of the

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company Firestone Tire and Rubber Company is an American tire company founded by Harvey S. Firestone (18681938) in 1900 initially to supply solid rubber side-wire tires for fire apparatus, and later, pneumatic tires for wagons, carriages, and other form ...

fortune, in 1951. She earned a bachelor's degree from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

in 1973, where she was among the first class that included women. She received a master's degree in teaching and early childhood education from

. Ford competed in tennis while at

and won a Michigan state championship in high school. Hamp has been involved in the management of the Detroit Lions since her mother took over the team in 2014. In 2015, she was involved in the decision to fire Tom Lewand and

Martin Mayhew Martin R. Mayhew (born October 8, 1965) is an American former professional football executive and cornerback of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles prior to being selected by the Buffalo ...

. In 2019, she was involved in the retention of general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia. On June 23, 2020, Hamp took over from her mother as principal owner and chairwoman. Her first major move after taking over as principal owner of the Lions was to fire Quinn and Patricia on November 28, 2020, after a 4–7 start to the 2020 season. Hamp taking ownership of the Lions marked the first time in NFL history where team ownership was passed between two women. Under Hamp's watch, the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

named Brad Holmes as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

on January 14, 2021 and

Dan Campbell Daniel Allen Campbell (born April 13, 1976) is an American professional football coach and former tight end who is the head coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played in the NFL for 11 seasons. Campb ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

six days later on January 20. She voiced her support for both Holmes and Campbell on October 26, 2022 despite the Lions' record being 4–18–1 since the dual appointments, stating, "I think we’ve got the right people in place to pull this off."Lage, Larry. Lions winning in ways they haven’t in Super Bowl era after franchise finally found the right leaders
''The Associated Press'', January 14, 2025. Retrieved January 14, 2025. The team subsequently qualified for the playoffs in two straight seasons starting in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. Ford Hamp is married to Steve Hamp and lives with her husband and three children in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamp, Sheila Ford 1951 births Boston University School of Education alumni Detroit Lions owners Family of Henry Ford Firestone family Living people Women American football executives Women sports owners Yale Bulldogs women's tennis players