Blizzard COO Paul Sams Buys Into Pittsburgh Steelers

Defending Super Bowl champions the Pittsburgh Steelers said last week that Paul Sams, COO of World of Warcraft house Blizzard Entertainment, is now one of 10 new owners of the famed American football franchise. The Steelers said last week that it completed the reorganization of the club's ownership, which resulted from a "sale of stock by members of the Rooney and McGinley families to Steelers President, Art Rooney II, along with a group of new shareholders." Sams' whole family -- including his wife, a pro-bono attorney who works for a family crisis center, and his three children -- are named as part-owners of the Steelers. The Steelers' website said Los Angeles-based Sams has coached youth sports for the past decade. Thomas Tull, another figure with ties to video games, is also one of the new owners of the club. Tull is CEO of Legendary Pictures, the company behind Batman Begins and 300, as well as the upcoming World of Warcraft movie, helmed by Spider-Man director Sam Raimi. Tull ventured into games with the game production company Brash Entertainment, which only existed from 2007 to 2008 before folding.