Speaking to the media for the first time since being announced as the newest member of the Seattle Storm's ownership group, legendary retired player Sue Bird told reporters Monday, "This actually feels reminiscent to my rookie year in a sense."
Drafted by the Storm with the No. 1 pick of the 2002 WNBA draft, Bird spent two decades as a player in Seattle before retiring at the end of the 2022 season with four championships and a record 13 All-Star appearances to her credit.
Given Bird's close ties to the city and the organization, making the move to team ownership was no surprise. Previously, Bird had invested in NWSL franchise NJ/NY Gotham FC in 2022 while still an active WNBA player.
"I feel like it was kind of inevitable in a lot of ways," Bird said. "It was something that I've always wanted, something that I've always had in the back of my head. For whatever reason, this is just when it worked out. I've only been retired not even two years, so give me a second, right?"
Speaking on behalf of Force 10 Hoops, the team's ownership group, Lisa Brummel echoed that expectation of formalizing Bird's relationship with the organization beyond her retirement as a player.
"We've always had it in the back of our mind as well to welcome Sue to this group, but like she said, she needed a minute to live her life," Brummel said. "She had a lot to do in the past year and this was a great time to bring our joint interests together and have her join the group."
From the Storm and Gotham FC to sports media and clothing company TOGETHXR and A Touch More, the production company she launched with fiancée Megan Rapinoe, Bird's off-court investments have focused on growth in women's sports. She's passionate about the financial opportunity as women's sports gain increasing popularity.
"There's really no better business," Bird said. "I always tell people, if you were to remove 'women's sports' or 'women's basketball' or 'women's soccer' or whatever sport you're talking about from the name of the business or the company and you just looked at the numbers, the growth, the trajectory, all the things, people would be jumping at this opportunity. That's really how I see it."
At the same time, it's clear that joining Seattle's ownership group is about more than just dollars and cents for Bird, who had her No. 10 jersey retired by the franchise last summer and continued to attend games as a fan on a regular basis.
"I've seen everything there is to see in terms of what this organization has accomplished, some of the hardships it's been through," Bird said. "I've been on that ride. So for me to be a part of ownership, I get to continue the ride, so to speak. It comes from a place of smart business, but of course there's a heartstring for me as well."
Bird is the third retired WNBA player to invest in one of her former franchises, and those roles have been unique to those individuals and organizations. Lisa Leslie became the first former WNBA player to transition to ownership with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2011, followed by Renee Montgomery with the Atlanta Dream. Montgomery also serves as vice president of the Dream, giving her a more active management position.
This early in the process, Bird and the Storm are still figuring out exactly how involved she will be in helping run the team.
"I'm the type of person who likes to see what's going to fit, see how things feel," Bird said. "I don't have anything preconceived on what kind of owner I'm going to be. I think that usually naturally plays itself out. If my playing career tells me anything, it's that.
"All you can do is show up, bring the value that you have, bring the intangibles that you bring and see how it all fits. That's how you create good teams, so that's how it's always played out for me and I'm assuming it's going to be the same way on this side of things."
Brummel and the Storm's current ownership welcome whatever Bird feels comfortable contributing.
"She's going to have observations and we're going to have observations and we're going to figure out where we can align to help grow the business because that's what we're all about here," Brummel said. "I don't have any preconceived notions about where Sue will choose to be involved or where we would want her to be involved, but we've always had a good dialogue back to when we first bought the team in 2008, so I have full confidence that we'll be able to discuss the goings on and find the right role."