After buying into the New York Yankees, Welsh soccer darlings Wrexham A.F.C., and Atlético de Madrid, one of La Liga’s biggest clubs, Apollo Sports Capital has an even bigger prize in mind: the NFL.
The sports arm of the private equity giant 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, 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.
