Super Bowl Winning Team Head Coach and MVP Press Conference

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Private equity is eating sports

Private equity firms may soon own your favorite football franchise.

Jack Raines

4/22/24 10:14AM

If you think private equity is eating everything, you're right.

Thursday, the Financial Times reported that private equity firms have been preparing funds to invest exclusively in the NFL. This marks a huge shift for the NFL, as it’s the only major American sports league without institutional investors.

Pitchbook published an excellent report in January breaking down private equity ownership stakes in the NBA, MLB, MLS, and NHL, showing that 31 teams across the four leagues have some level of private equity ownership.

Why are private equity firms interested in owning NFL teams? Because they are lucrative businesses, and team valuations have been soaring thanks to the league’s latest media rights contract.

Unlike other professional sports, such as baseball, where local media deals control the distribution of some games, all NFL games are packaged into league-wide deals with an equal revenue-sharing agreement between clubs.

In 2021, the NFL signed an 11-year, $110B contract that would begin in the 2023 season, and last season, each team took home roughly $400M from the league’s media and sponsorship deals.

Last year, Apollo Global Management cofounder Josh Harris bought the Washington Commanders for $6.05B last year, the highest price ever paid for any professional team in any league.

Rich, stable cash flows make NFL teams prized assets, but soaring valuations have reduced the number of qualified individuals that could afford a stake. Private equity firms, however, have billions of dollars to deploy, making them prime candidates to invest.

According to the Financial Times, the NFL is asking firms to create "American football-only funds" that wouldn't be able to invest in other sports leagues.

Max Knoblauch20h

Paramount reportedly receives $24 billion from Gulf funds to back its Warner Bros. takeover

Three Middle East sovereign wealth funds have agreed to back Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery to the tune of roughly $24 billion, according to Wall Street Journal reporting.

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Saudi Arabia’s PIF, which last year led the $55 billion deal to take Electronic Arts private, will provide about $10 billion in the deal. The Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Co. is also involved.

According to the WSJ, the funds will not receive voting rights in the combined Paramount-Warner company. Those working on the deal don’t expect the Gulf funds’ involvement to spark any additional regulatory reviews.

Exclusive | Gulf Funds Agree to Back Paramount’s $81 Billion Takeover of Warner

The company’s triumph over Netflix in the bidding war came thanks in part to financial backing from Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison, billionaire father of Paramount CEO David Ellison.

Hyunsoo Rim

appy birthday

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Apple is turning 50 today and it doesn’t look a thing like its younger self

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The entrance of Allbirds seen from Hayes St. in San Francisco, Calif.

Allbirds, the once buzzy multibillion-dollar sneaker startup, is selling up for $39 million

That’s less than 1% of its peak market cap about four years ago.

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Max Knoblauch3/30/26

JetBlue is raising its bag fees as fuel costs squeeze airlines

JetBlue will reportedly hike its bag fees, as the cost of jet fuel continues to climb amid the war in Iran. It’s the latest example of carriers finding ways to push rising costs onto travelers.

Last week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said that if fuel prices remain elevated, fares would need to rise another 20% for his airline to break even this year.

As CNBC reported, when one airline raises fees, others tend to follow.

Earlier this month, JetBlue hiked its first-quarter outlook for operating revenue per seat mile to between 5% and 7%, saying that strong Q1 demand helped “partially offset additional expenses realized from operational disruptions and rising fuel costs.” Now, the carrier appears to be making moves to further boost revenue to offset those costs.

Earlier on Monday, JetBlue rival Alaska Air lowered its Q1 profit forecast. The refining margins for the carrier’s cheapest fuel option — sourced from Singapore and representing about 20% of Alaska’s overall supply — have spiked 400% since February.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.