The Detroit Lions have announced that Martha Firestone Ford, who took over after William Clay Ford Sr. died in 2014, has stepped down as the principal owner of the team. Sheila Ford Hamp will succeed her mother as the club's principal owner and chairman.
"It has been a great honor for our family to be associated with the Lions and with the National Football League," Firestone Ford wrote in a statement. "I am gratified that this family tradition, which my husband and I began almost six decades ago, will continue under Sheila's guiding hand. It is clear to me that Sheila will provide superb leadership and is fully committed to competitive excellence and community involvement.