Tod Leiweke

Tod Leiweke (born January 12, 1960, in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American sports executive who is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the NFL. He was hired on July 26, 2010, to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Minority Owner of Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment including the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Tampa Bay Storm, Tampa Bay Times Forum and the combined Cascade and TBSE Real Estate Project.

Formerly, Leiweke was the Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Seahawks National Football League team, owned by Paul Allen, and the Seattle Sounders FC Major League Soccer team, which Leiweke has a minority stake in. Leiweke also was the CEO of Vulcan Sports and Entertainment (VSE), a management company also owned by Allen which oversees Allen's sports-related properties.^[1] Prior to his employment with Paul Allen, Leiweke had served as president of the Minnesota Wild, was the first executive director of The First Tee and previously held executive positions with the PGA Tour, the Vancouver Canucks, and the Golden State Warriors.

Leiweke joined the Seahawks in 2003. In 2005, the team advanced to Super Bowl XL, losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In 2007, he became acting president of the Portland Trail Blazers, replacing Steve Patterson. Vulcan Sports and Entertainment was created at that time.^[2] Leiweke served as acting president until June 20 of that year, when the team named Larry Miller to be its president.

Leiweke was the key deciding factor in the firing of former Seattle Seahawks coach Jim L. Mora in January 2010,^[3] and was also the main benefactor in the hiring of USC coach Pete Carroll.

On July 24, 2015, it was announced that Leiweke would resign from his projects in Tampa Bay to become the COO of the NFL. He will be the first NFL COO since commissioner Roger Goodell took over in 2003.

Tod is the younger brother of Tim Leiweke,^[4] former president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. He resides in Manhattan with his wife, Tara, and his children, Tyler and Tori.

References

1. "Seattle Seahawks Management Profile: Tod Leiweke". Seattle Seahawks. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
2. "Tod Leiweke to Assume Management Oversight for the Portland Trail Blazers". Portland Trail Blazers. March 1, 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
3. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/football/nfl/01/08/seahawks.mora.ap/index.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/lightning/content/new-lightning-ceo-tod-leiweke-makes-good-promise-buy-season-tickets