Pittsburgh Steelers in ownership talks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pittsburgh Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney and his son, Steelers President Art Rooney II, are arranging a financing plan to buy Dan Rooney's brothers' shares in the American football franchise, according to a statement on the Steelers' website on Monday.

The plan is designed to retain substantial ownership of the franchise by the Rooneys, the website said.

Dan Rooney wants to stay in the football business while some of his four brothers plan to get out of the NFL and focus their business efforts on their racetracks and other interests, the statement said.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Monday that the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise has been secretly shopped to potential buyers amid continuing divisions among the five sons.

The statement said that for the past two years the Rooney family has had discussions about a restructuring of the family's ownership.

Each of the other Rooney brothers -- Art Jr, Timothy, Patrick and John -- has an ownership interest in the Steelers, the website said.

"I have spent my entire life devoted to the Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football League," Dan Rooney said in the statement. "I will do everything possible to work out a solution to ensure my father's legacy of keeping the Steelers in the Rooney family and in Pittsburgh for at least another 75 years."

Art Rooney II said in the statement: "There is no reason to believe that the current internal discussions will have any impact on our fans or on our team this season or in the seasons to come."

The NFL declined to comment.

A sports banker not involved with the deal who asked not to be identified said if the team was up for sale it could set an all-time U.S. record for the value of an NFL franchise, exceeding.

The sale of a 50 percent stake in the Miami Dolphins in February to real estate developer Stephen Ross valued the NFL franchise at $1.1 billion.

The banker estimated that the Steelers could be valued at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion. That banker said that with a new stadium and strong fan base, it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for buyers.

The Steelers is one of the original teams in the U.S. National Football League and has been owned by the Rooney family since Art Rooney Sr started the team as the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1933.

In 1938, Rooney signed Byron "Whizzer" White to be a running back for the first big contract in the league's history. White later went on to be a member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

(Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Chicago and Pat Fitzgibbons in New York)

(Reporting by Megan Davies, editing by Phil Berlowitz, Richard Chang)