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September 16, 2026

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Private equity firm Apollo Sports Capital is taking a “hard look” at investing in an NFL team, the group’s chief strategy officer told Front Office Sports at the Asset Class event Tuesday. The firm already has stakes in the Yankees and Wrexham AFC—but has so far remained on the football sidelines.

—Eric Fisher

First Up

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said it would represent a “failure” for the league if the Trail Blazers left Portland due to stadium-financing issues.
Diamond Baseball Holdings has bought 49 Minor League Baseball teams since 2021—and its CEO told the FOS Asset Class event it could buy more.
Texas QB Arch Manning apologized to Holly Rowe a day after joking about an AI video depicting Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian slapping the ESPN reporter.
Former NFL defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh called the Rams’ decision to get to Australia just one day before kickoff “asinine.”

Private Equity Giant Apollo Taking ‘Hard Look’ at NFL Investment

Nicole Pereira Photography/Front Office Sports

After buying into the New York Yankees, Welsh soccer darlings Wrexham AFC, and Atlético de Madrid, one of LaLiga’s biggest clubs, Apollo Sports Capital has an even bigger prize in mind: the NFL.

The sports arm of the alternative asset manager isn’t currently one of the NFL’s approved PE partners, which were first established two years ago. But Sam Porter, Apollo Sports Capital chief strategy officer, said at Tuesday’s Front Office Sports Asset Class event in New York that he still wants to get in business with the NFL, if possible.

“When you look at the NFL, you see just a massive audience, a massive connection with the U.S. population, and a goal to grow globally, which we’re seeing more this year than ever,” Porter said. “So, yeah, the NFL is the biggest league in the world in terms of revenue, so it’s a place we have to look and have to figure out what is a place, a position, where we can enter, either through a partnership with a club or whatever that looks like.

“We’re still in the early stages of that [process], but we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a hard look at that league given how big it is. The numbers are just staggering for the NFL, so it’s something we have to take a serious look at,” he said.

In the 25 months that the NFL has allowed private equity investment in teams, the overall impact has been somewhat muted.

The league remains bullish on the long-term potential. Most recently, Arctos bought into the Falcons, its fourth NFL team investment.

Pinstripe Calculus

Apollo Sports Capital also struck a landmark $2.6 billion investment deal with the Yankees that closed last month. The financial influx to the MLB club, involving a mix of credit and equity, will be partially used to restructure and pay down debt, while the Steinbrenner family maintains franchise control.

“This is an overall, holistic capital solution to give [the Yankees] various levers to pull financially to help grow the club,” Porter said. “[The Steinbrenners] have a lot of latitude and leeway to use this to help grow the club and grow the business.”

Peter Freund, Yankees limited partner and CEO of Diamond Baseball Holdings, a major operator of Minor League Baseball clubs, appeared with Porter at the Asset Class event.

“This provides an opportunity to free up some capital to invest in the Yankees, and I know everybody with the club is super excited about it,” Freund said.

The deal also is happening as the Yankees on Monday clinched their third straight postseason berth and eighth in Aaron Boone’s nine years as manager. With a weakened American League field and New York gathering strength after several player injuries this season, the Yankees are widely seen as a serious contender for this year’s World Series. Both Porter and Freund predicted the Yankees will meet the Brewers, the National League’s best team, in the Fall Classic.

“I don’t know who else could win the NL,” Porter said of the Brewers, discounting a weakened Dodgers team that is the two-time defending champion and clinched a postseason spot Monday night along with the Yankees.

Ready for What’s Next

No one can predict exactly what’s ahead.

New challenges, shifting priorities, and unexpected opportunities are part of doing business. The organizations best positioned for the future aren’t necessarily the ones with all the answers. They’re the ones investing in the people, leadership, and capabilities needed to adapt as circumstances change.

Future readiness isn’t about predicting the future. It’s about building a team that’s equipped to navigate change, embrace new opportunities, and support long-term growth. Insperity helps build that readiness every day by helping companies align their people strategy with their business strategy.

How you HR matters. Because the future favors prepared organizations.

ONE BIG FIG

Let’s All Go to the Lobby

Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

$31.4 million

That’s how much broadcasters, universities, athletic conferences, and athlete-advocacy groups spent on lobbying in the second quarter of 2026, according to OpenSecrets. In June, a bipartisan group of senators that includes Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) introduced the Protect College Sports Act, spurring some of that $31.4 million in spending. The bill has many provisions, including restricting transfers, capping conference expansion, and instituting stricter NIL and eligibility rules for athletes. It would also require wealthier schools to maintain women’s and Olympic sports programs.

Groups in favor of the bill include the nonprofit Saving College Sports, which aired ads this quarter with former Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders. Opposition, meanwhile, has come from labor groups, the NAACP, and organizations advocating for college athletes. Both sides lobbied—and likely spent more money—for or against the bill, which secured the necessary 60 votes in the Senate on Tuesday to continue advancing toward a final vote.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five golfers on the U.S. Presidents Cup team by most FedExCup points?

LOUD AND CLEAR

DraftKings Disputes ‘Struggling’ Description

Front Office Sports

“We’re doing great.”

—DraftKings CEO and cofounder Jason Robins, disputing a Fortune magazine story that said the company was “struggling.” Robins, speaking with Front Office Sports at the Asset Class event in New York on Tuesday, called the August article about the betting company’s decision to award a $30 million marketing contract to a cofounder who resigned, a “total hit piece.”

As prediction markets such as Kalshi, Polymarket, and Novig have gone mainstream, sports betting companies like DraftKings and FanDuel have found themselves competing for market share. DraftKings’s share price is down 50% since early last year. But Robins suggested the stock price doesn’t reflect economic reality, as DraftKings gets more active in prediction markets. “It’s this bizarre thing where we see a headline that is positive on predictions, and everyone in the company [celebrates] and our stock goes down.”

College Football’s Biggest Videoboard

The University of Illinois is raising the bar for game day with the largest video display in college football from Daktronics. Totaling more than 17,300 square feet, the new end-zone videoboard at Gies Memorial Stadium is the highlight of an installation that includes 16 LED displays combining for more than 26,750 square feet and 30 million pixels. The main display itself is nearly double the size of the next-largest screen in college sports. This season, Illinois debuted its larger-than-life technology to enhance the live event experience and create an immersive atmosphere for Illini fans.

👉 Take a look at Illinois’s new videoboard.