Detroit Lions approval poll: Owner Sheila Hamp (February 2023)

Do you approve of the job Detroit Lions owner Sheila Hamp has done since 2020? Let’s check in on fan grades.

Most of the Detroit Lions recent success has been understandably credited to general manager Brad Holmes and coach Dan Campbell. Holmes—who has a 99% approval rating—has built this roster from rubble, producing a depth chart full of All Pros and Pro Bowlers. Campbell (97% approval) has successfully turned around the culture of Detroit, when it seemed like an impossible task for the last three-plus decades.

But both Holmes and Campbell have been quick to give credit to a third piece of the puzzle: owner Sheila Hamp.

“She’s one of one,” Campbell said two weeks ago. “She’s unique and I’ll say this, everything that we kind of are and what we’re about has started with her. It’s really her. It’s her vision.”

Unlike coach and general manager, it’s a bit tougher to evaluate how an NFL team owner is doing. We don’t see their exact actions throughout the year. Their influence doesn’t necessary directly impact what happens on gamedays. In short, their wide-ranging power makes it tough to pick out specifics of what they’re doing right and doing wrong.

There is one thing we know, though: she spearheaded the search that resulted in hiring Holmes and Campbell, and that counts for something.

So with that knowledge, it’s time to evaluate the job Hamp has done since becoming the primary owner of the Detroit Lions in June of 2020.

The upward trajectory of the team is impossible to ignore, although some may still have questions about how the business side of the team is being run. Ticket prices are seeing a massive increase in 2024, and the Ford Field experience—outside of the insane fans inside—remains relatively unremarkable.

We’ve only held this poll three times before, most recently back in January 2023. Here are the amount of “A” votes Hamp has gotten throughout her tenure:

January 2021: 17% A grades
July 2021: 58%
January 2023: 67%

Alright, time to vote. Do you approve of the job Sheila Hamp is doing as Lions owner? Give her your grade thus far in the poll below, and then scroll down to the comment section to share your reasoning.