There’s great appeal in owning a pro sports team, but even the rich are getting priced out of leagues like the NFL and NBA. Many would-be owners are turning to soccer, particularly in Europe, where there are many teams that can be had for more reasonable prices. But European soccer ownership can be as perilous as it is tempting.

Just ask John Textor, whose failure to follow UEFA multi-club ownership rules recently cost Crystal Palace its place in Europa League. Textor is a cautionary tale for aspiring owners showing that Wrexham AFC—which is reportedly looking to sell a stake at a 19,000% valuation growth thanks to mega-famous co-owner Ryan Reynolds—is an exception, not the rule.

“The fact that Ryan Reynolds pulled it off is not because Wrexham had any special sauce,” one industry source tells Front Office Sports. “It’s a pipe dream for people to think they can be Ryan Reynolds.”

Textor’s two clubs—Crystal Palace in the U.K. and Olympique Lyonnais in France—both qualified for the 2025–26 Europa League. But under UEFA rules, teams with shared ownership that have “decisive influence” can’t compete in the same continental tournament. Textor tried to offload his 43% stake in Crystal Palace to Jets owner Woody Johnson, but the deal came too late. The club was ultimately booted.

Multi-club conflicts are just one hazard. UEFA comprises 55 national governing bodies across Europe, with hundreds of men’s and women’s teams competing under its umbrella. For inexperienced buyers, the web of league rules, cross-border governance, and financial unpredictability can turn a dream investment into a disaster.

One of the most immediate threats is relegation, according to Sam Porter, a former executive for MLS team D.C. United, who now co-owns Club Necaxa in Mexico and Club Deportivo La Equidad in Colombia.

“You can buy a team in one league and you can end up in a different league, where the valuations are different, the revenues are different, and the situations are different,” Porter told FOS during an episode of Portfolio Players.

Alexander Jarvis, who advises on soccer club deals through his firm, Blackbridge Sports LLC, tells FOS that rookie investors often make avoidable mistakes, such as underestimating operational complexity, overhyping global “brand potential,” and ignoring fundamentals like stadium control or league dynamics.

“Not every football club has a Wrexham story in it,” he says.

Jarvis, whose firm recently facilitated the deal that saw Lenore Sports Partners buy a minority stake in Portuguese soccer club SL Benfica and was also involved with the Florida-based investment firm that bought Ireland’s Cobh Ramblers, says U.S. investors often misunderstand the economics of owning a soccer club in the region.

“In Europe, most clubs rely heavily on variable income—match day, player sales, performance bonuses, and promotion-related windfalls,” he says. “Relegation from the top tiers can wipe out 70% of a club’s income overnight. It’s not a capped league monopoly system. It’s survival of the fittest and smartest.”

His top advice? “Do your homework.” That includes examining not just pitch decks and return-on-investment promises but also deeper questions: Does the club control its stadium? How engaged is the fan base? What kind of political or community support exists for growth?

“What matters is what’s under the hood,” Jarvis tells FOS. “What their books and boardroom really look like—sometimes, it’s chaos.”

Kalshi is facing more regional litigation over the legality of its prediction markets as it has been sued by three tribes in California accusing the exchange of engaging in illegal sports gambling on their respective reservations.

The Blue Lake Rancheria, the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, and the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians filed a lawsuit against Kalshi and Robinhood (which runs trading markets from Kalshi’s exchange) seeking a preliminary injunction, claiming the sports markets offered violate the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the tribes’ Tribal-State Gaming Compacts with California.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. A Kalshi spokesperson declined to comment. 

In the sports realm, Kalshi and Robinhood offer odds on futures markets such as league champions, award winners, and golf and tennis tournament champions. They also offer single-game markets, which approximate money-line bets on traditional sportsbooks. 

“Kalshi will claim that it is not offering sports gambling. Kalshi will tell the Court that it is a Designated Contract Market, regulated exclusively by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and is merely operating a ‘prediction market’ that permits the buying and selling of ‘commodities contracts,’ or swaps on sporting events,” the lawsuit said. “While masquerading as novel commodities and futures products, these event contracts are, substantively, nothing more than illegal, unregulated wagers on the outcomes of sporting events.” 

The sports event contracts offered by Kalshi and other prediction platforms have generated controversy because they appear so similar to sports betting. Kalshi maintains there’s a key distinction: Traditional wagers see users betting against “the house”—casinos or sportsbooks that set the odds and profit when bettors lose—while sports prediction markets offer nationwide marketplaces where users trade against one another.

Kalshi has received cease-and-desist letters from regulators in Maryland, Illinois, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, and Ohio. Kalshi has filed suits of its own in New Jersey, Nevada, and Maryland. It has had early success in its New Jersey case and continues to operate. 

Predictions markets and sportsbooks could become increasingly intertwined by football season. Front Office Sports has reported that Kalshi and FanDuel have had talks about a potential partnership, and that DraftKings has had talks about buying Railbird Exchange, which recently became licensed by the CFTC. Earlier this week, Polymarket announced it acquired the small derivatives exchange QCX for $112 million, which would position it to re-enter the U.S. market. 

In a statement to FOS, a Robinhood spokesperson said the company’s “event contracts are regulated by the CFTC and offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, a CFTC-registered entity, allowing retail customers to access prediction markets in a safe, compliant, and regulated manner. So far, two federal courts have made initial rulings that the CFTC’s rules preempt other laws and we intend to defend ourselves against these claims.”

Time flies when you’re spinning a basketball on your finger for an entire century. Next year, the Harlem Globetrotters celebrate their 100th birthday. For more than a decade, they’ve lived in the portfolio of Herschend Family Entertainment, a theme park operator with no other sports holdings.

In the lead-up to their historic 100th season, the Globetrotters are taking shots off the court the same way they do on it, with tricks meant to drum up excitement for their centennial. For example, the team will have exclusive merchandise using a special 100th-anniversary logo announced in May, and in early July it revealed the team will hold its first-ever open tryouts this fall to select athletes for the 2026 season.

“When you think about brands that are 100 years old, the list is really short,” Keith Dawkins, president of the Globetrotters since 2022, tells Front Office Sports. “And today, we’re putting things in place to elevate ourselves even more. We had to have a mindset shift. We’re not just a basketball tour; we’re a beloved global intellectual property.”

History of Ownership

Founded in 1926 by Abe Saperstein, the Globetrotters have stood the test of time across decades and different owners.

Saperstein owned the team until his death in 1966, at which point his estate took control. By 1967, TV and radio station operator Metromedia bought the Globetrotters for a reported purchase price of “slightly over $1 million.” In 1986, Metromedia sold the Globetrotters (and Ice Capades Inc., which put on live ice skating entertainment shows) to International Broadcasting Corp. in a deal reportedly worth $30 million. In 1993, with IBC on the verge of bankruptcy, a group led by former Globetrotters player Mannie Jackson rescued the Globetrotters through a reported $5.5 million acquisition.

In 2005, private-equity firm Shamrock Capital, controlled by Roy E. Disney, nephew of Walt Disney, purchased an 80% stake in the team for an undisclosed price. That’s where the Globetrotters lived until 2013, when Atlanta-based Herschend, a family-owned business that mostly operates live entertainment assets like amusement parks and aquariums—such as the Dollywood theme park in Tennessee and Adventure Aquarium in New Jersey—bought the Globetrotters for an undisclosed price.

That’s where the Globetrotters have been housed ever since.

In an emailed statement, Herschend CEO Andrew Wexler described the Globetrotters as a “shining example” of the company’s larger legacy, saying they “have become a powerful expression of our purpose: Bringing families closer together by creating memories worth repeating.”

Courtesy of Harlem Globetrotters

“The ethos and DNA of the Globetrotters matches up with the ethos and DNA of Herschend,” Dawkins tells FOS. 

Could the Globetrotters Attract a New Buyer?

The Globetrotters are a unique asset. They are a hybrid sports and entertainment team that people recognize thanks to a history that includes their own World Tours, a Saturday morning cartoon called Harlem Globetrotters that ran on CBS in the early 1970s, and their Scooby-Doo appearances.

Led by Dawkins, the team aims to maintain its place as a well-known entity. Last year, the Globetrotters entered into a multiyear agreement with licensing giant IMG to develop products like toys, memorabilia, and video games.

“The team’s shift toward becoming a more media-forward, storytelling-rich brand is an exciting evolution that allows even more people to experience the energy, excitement, and joy of the Globetrotters—whether courtside, on-screen, or out in the community,” Wexler said. 

Because they are owned by a privately held business, the team’s financial performance is not completely clear. Growjo, which tracks private companies and start-ups, estimates the Globetrotters’ annual revenue at almost $52 million per year.

Herschend and the Globetrotters seem aligned, but that doesn’t mean they will forever be intertwined. Chris Russo, CEO of advisory firm Fifth Generation Sports and a longtime sports banker, says “sports entertainment” is heating up—he cited the Savannah Bananas as another example of a team that fits in that category—and the Globetrotters are an entrenched entity that could have value to potential buyers.

“The Bananas are getting a lot of attention,” he tells FOS. “People think of the Bananas as the next Harlem Globetrotters. Well, the Globetrotters are still here and continuing into their 100th year,” Russo tells FOS.

The Globetrotters are a true global touring business, staging upward of 400 events in more than 25 countries each year. That footprint gives them built-in revenue streams through ticketing, merchandise, and IP licensing, Russo says. Despite their lack of affiliation with a pro league, the Globetrotters have everything a potential buyer—be they a PE firm or a sports and entertainment holding company like Endeavor—might want.

“When you think about whether you can create a branded property outside the big four sports, the Globetrotters have already done it,” Russo says.

As to the question of whether the Globetrotters have received any recent buyout interest, Dawkins was coy.

“I’d like to say we’re a very attractive business,” he tells FOS. “And an attractive business attracts all types of people who want to do various types of deal flow in your business. That could be from investment to strategic partnership to, the list goes on.”