NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Susie Adams Smith, one of the minority owners of KSA Industries, Inc., has started the process of offering her interest in the parent company which owns the Tennessee Titans.
KSA Industries, Inc., is involved in several different businesses, including ownership of the Titans.
The club's operations will not be affected by Smith's decision to sell.
The club's other four owners, including controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, represent two-thirds of majority ownership and will continue to own and operate the team. Strunk, the daughter of late Titans owner Kenneth S. "Bud" Adams, has 33 percent ownership in KSA Industries, Inc. The family of Adams' deceased son, Kenneth Adams III, also has one-third ownership — his grandsons, Kenneth IV (11 percent) and Barclay Adams (11 percent), and their mother, Susan Lewis (11 percent).
Their majority control will be unchanged and unaffected by Smith's sale of her minority, non-controlling interest (33 percent) in the family business. Smith, daughter of the long-time Oilers/Titans owner, is married to Tommy Smith, who once served as president/CEO of the team.
Strunk, who replaced Tommy Smith as controlling owner in March of 2015, has no plans to sell, and neither does anyone in Kenneth Adams III's family.
Titans Statement from Amy Adams Strunk
"Recently Susie (Smith) began the process of selling her portion of KSA Industries, which includes a fractional indirect interest in the Tennessee Titans. We respect her right to make this decision and will cooperate fully with the process, which will not impact team operations in any way.
Regardless of the outcome of this process, I will continue to serve as the controlling owner of the Titans. The remaining two-thirds of the team controlled by myself, Kenneth Adams IV, Barclay Adams and Susan Lewis is not and has never been for sale.
Both personally and as a group, we have invested time, effort and capital to improve this franchise and we are excited to see the results on and off the field for years to come."
The NFL is aware of Smith's desire to sell her interest in the parent company. The Titans have also made the league office aware that Strunk and the rest of the Adams family have no plans to sell.
Strunk has made a number of changes to stabilize and improve the franchise since taking over as controlling owner of the ownership group over two years ago.
Strunk hired Jon Robinson as general manager, and elevated Mike Mularkey from interim head coach to permanent head coach after firing Ken Whisenhunt. Strunk also hired president and CEO Steve Underwood on a permanent basis.
More recently, Strunk has overseen massive improvements at Nissan Stadium and Saint Thomas Sports Park, which includes a new locker room, training room and weight room.
Strunk, who lives in Texas, also bought a home in Nashville recently. Kenneth Adams IV has lived in Nashville for years, and is on the team's Board of Directors.
Last August, Strunk was added to the NFL's Hall of Fame Committee, which is led by representatives of NFL ownership groups. The group includes Cowboys owner Jerry Jones (Chairman), Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, Bears chairman George H. McCaskey, Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, Redskins owner Dan Snyder, and 49ers owner Denise DeBartolo-York.
In addition to assuming the role of controlling owner of the team in March 2015, Strunk also serves as the co-chairman of the franchise's Board of Directors.
