Meet the Hunt family, Kansas City Chiefs owners

Kansas City Chiefs co-owner Clark Hunt and his family have waited five decades to see the franchise they have owned since the NFL’s inception return to the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers by a score of 31-20 to win Super Bowl LIV on Sunday. The franchise traces its origins back to the old American Football League, an NFL competitor that later merged with its archrival. Founded by the Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Lamar Hunt, the Chiefs played in the first-ever Super Bowl in 1967 and returned to the game in 1969, winning on the latter occasion.

The Hunt family’s decades-long commitment to the Chiefs franchise has paid off to the tune of a $2.3 billion valuation as of September 2019, according to Forbes. With a win in the AFC Championship game on Jan. 19, the Chiefs earned the Lamar Hunt Trophy – an award named after their founder – and clinched a spot in a championship game that could yield even larger financial returns in the future.

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“It’s a tremendous day for our family, and I should mention how happy I am for my mother [Norma Hunt],″ Clark Hunt said following the victory. “To hold and kiss this trophy really means a lot, and I think that’s true for my whole family.”

Lamar Hunt played a critical role in the AFL’s initial challenge of the NFL’s market dominance. Following their merger, he contributed to the NFL’s development from fledging organization into the preeminent U.S. sports league, with an estimated $16 billion in revenue in 2019 alone. He is widely credited with coining the term “Super Bowl.”

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While Lamar Hunt had a wide variety of business ventures, including an ill-fated effort alongside his brothers to corner the silver market, he was best known for his efforts in sports. He was one of Major League Soccer’s founding investors and owned three different teams over the course of several decades.

Clark Hunt and his siblings, including Lamar Hunt Jr., assumed ownership of the franchise following the patriarchs’ death in 2006. He has served as the team’s chairman and CEO since 2006, responsible for the franchise’s day-to-day operations.

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Under the leadership of Hunt and longtime head coach Andy Reid, the Chiefs have built a talented roster that includes the NFL’s reigning MVP, quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story has been updated.