NFL plan would allow private equity firms to buy stake in teams

The NFL is considering a major shift in its minority stake ownership policies that could allow owners to sell a percentage of their teams at a significant return.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is considering allowing private equity firms to purchase up to 10 percent ownership of its 32 teams. Previously, the NFL allowed only individuals or families to purchase limited partnership stakes.

“As sports evolve, we want to make sure our policies reflect that,” Goodell said. “We’ve had a tremendous amount of interest, and we believe this could make sense for us in a limited fashion, probably no more than 10 percent of a team. That would be something we think could complement our ownership and support our ownership policies.”

The potential new policy shift does not affect Tom Brady’s bid to buy a minority share of the Raiders. He’s seeking to buy 10 percent of the team as an individual.

In contrast, private equity firms such as Blackstone, Bain Capital and TPG pool their money from multiple investors. Theoretically, it would be easier for NFL owners to facilitate minority stake sales of their teams. It is less prohibitive to find a group capable of coming up with the necessary funds rather than an individual.

For perspective, the Dallas Cowboys’ most recent valuation topped the NFL at $9 billion. If owner Jerry Jones sold 10 percent of his club at that valuation, it would require the investor to come up with $900 million. That’s a lot of money for an individual, especially when no decision-making power is included.

It’s much less restraining for a private equality firm seeking to invest in a continually appreciating asset.

The NFL is targeting the end of the year to put the new policies in place. Goodell said the 10 percent cap could be raised at some point.

The NBA, MLB and NHL allow private equity firms to purchase up to 30 percent of its teams.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.