NFL prepares to give private equity green light to invest
People familiar with the matter told Scoreboard that owners are contemplating introducing a rule requiring any private equity investment to come from an NFL-focused fund, as opposed to a general sports or other investment vehicle. As a result, at least two firms are quietly tapping investors to put together NFL-specific funds ahead of the league’s green light.
As the world’s richest professional sports league, with generous revenue-sharing agreements between clubs and a $110bn domestic media rights contract, the NFL is the lone holdout among US pro sports to the investments of institutional capital. Each of the other Big Four leagues, as well as Major League Soccer and the National Women’s Soccer League, have amended bylaws since 2019 to allow for private capital stakes, hastened by a pandemic-induced liquidity crunch and skyrocketing valuations.
But the cliquish cohort of gridiron football owners have bided their time, watching their counterparts test the private equity waters first. The result has been a drawn-out examination of purported best practices, helmed by a special committee of select owners including the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs’ Clark Hunt, Walmart chairman and Denver Broncos owner Greg Penner and the New England Patriots’ Bob Kraft, among others.
As a result, some of the league’s thinking is inspired by precedent in other sports, such as the fund established by Dyal HomeCourt Partners, a division of asset manager Blue Owl, specifically for NBA investments.
Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, has suggested the introduction of institutional capital investment is a matter of when, not if. (After the most recent owners meeting last month, he told reporters it could be “as early as May, probably closer to October”.)
Some of the people who spoke with Scoreboard said to expect deals to be executed with teams almost immediately after the league gives private equity the go ahead. In the meantime, everyone is getting their ducks in a row.