Woody Johnson, the owner of the NFL’s New York Jets, is in talks over a £200 million ($272m) investment in Crystal Palace, sources told ESPN — a deal that could clear the path for the FA Cup winners to participate in next season’s UEFA Europa League.
Palace, who won their first-ever major trophy by defeating Manchester City in May’s FA Cup final at Wembley, are at risk of being barred from the Europa League due to a multiclub ownership rule violation.
Minority stakeholder John Textor also owns a majority stake in Ligue 1 team Lyon.
Although Textor has no day-to-day involvement in the running of Palace, who are controlled by chairman Steve Parish and U.S. investors Josh Harris and David Blitzer, UEFA rules prevent two teams with the same ownership playing in the same competition unless shares in one club are placed into a blind trust.
Textor failed to place his Palace or Lyon shares in such a vehicle by the UEFA deadline of March 1 — more than two months before Palace secured Europa League qualification by winning the FA Cup.
However, sources have said that Textor, whose Eagle Football Group also includes Belgian club Daring Brussels and Brazilian team Botafogo, is ready to sell his 43% stake in Palace, with Johnson the leading candidate to thrash out a deal.
Johnson, 78, served as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2021 and he made a failed bid to buy Chelsea after previous owner, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, was sanctioned by the UK government in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Johnson has previously declared himself to be a Chelsea supporter. Should Textor offload his Palace shares, sources have said that it would resolve the multiclub ownership issues that threaten the team’s place in next season’s Europa League.
Johnson purchased the Jets in 2000 for $635m. In 2024, the franchise was valued at $6.8 billion, according to Sportico. Under Johnson’s ownership, the Jets’ record is 173-231 (.428), which ranks 26th out of 32 teams.
Earlier this year, Johnson was the only NFL owner to receive an F grade in the NFL Players Association annual team report card. He dismissed the findings, questioning the validity of the survey. Previously, he acknowledged he needed to improve as an owner.
Information from ESPN’s Rich Cimini was used in this report.
