Lions owner Sheila Hamp speaks publicly, sets high bar for 2024 season

Detroit Lions owner Sheila Hamp was one of the first people to take the stage on Thursday night at the team’s uniform release event at Ford Field. Her entrance was showered with chants of her name from the 5,000 season ticket holders, Lions, and Ford employees in attendance. The Lions owner took the opportunity to speak directly to the fans in a four-minute opening remark, and she did not mince words about the upcoming season.

“As coach (Dan) Campbell said at the end of last season, that was Phase 1,” Hamp said. “And the 2024 season is Phase 2. And one of the goals for 2024 is that at the end of the season we will be hoisting a trophy.”

Winning a Super Bowl is the obvious goal this upcoming season, seeing as Detroit currently has the fourth best bettings odds to win the championship. Still, hearing a Lions owner utter those exact words carries some serious weight. It’s rare enough in this franchise’s history to have the team owner speaking directly to the fans, but to acknowledge championship goals—and have them seem very realistic—is not something we are accustomed to hearing. It is truly a new era.

Hamp also offered a sincere thanks to the fans in attendance for what was a magical 2023 season. Lions fans not only showed up in droves to away games, giving the Lions an extra boost away from home, but the energy in Ford Field was electric, particularly down the stretch and in the team’s two home playoff games—the first of their kind in the Ford Field era.

“The support you showed our team and what you did for the whole organization was incredible,” Hamp said. “From the ‘Let’s go Lions’ to ‘Jared Goff’ chants, to the fact that we broke the decibel record at ford Field for noise, oh my gosh, it was incredible.”

Since becoming the primary team owner in June of 2020, Hamp has done the impossible: become a beloved and successful owner of the Detroit Lions. In our last approval poll of Hamp, 94% of fans gave her an overall A grade, with 5% offering a B. Meanwhile, the team success has been nearly unprecedented. Detroit matched their franchise record in both regular season wins (12) and overall wins (14) last season. They made it to just their second ever NFC Championship game, and won more playoff games in 2023 (two) than they had in the previous 65 years (one).

So talk your talk, Sheila. You’ve earned it.