One of America’s richest families is joining the Giants huddle just as the 2025–26 NFL season is about to kick off.

Julia Koch and members of her billionaire family are buying a minority stake in the Giants, according to multiple reports. A source familiar with the matter tells Front Office Sports a deal has been reached but is not yet finalized. 

The Mara and Tisch families have been shopping a minority stake in the team since February, when they hired investment bank Moelis & Company to run a sale process. 

The deal, first reported by Bloomberg, is expected to be presented to other NFL owners next month. It is for a 10% stake and values the Giants at more than $10 billion, Sportico reported, which represents the highest franchise value for an NFL team in history, surpassing the Bears’ $8.8 billion valuation in an equity share deal between the McCaskey and Ryan families that was reportedly reached last month. Before that, the highest team valuation was the 49ers, which in May sold a total 6% stake to a group of three families at a reported $8.5 billion valuation. 

Under NFL rules, deals like this are subject to approval by the league’s finance committee, which is made up of owners, as well as a vote by the full group of owners, with a three-fourths approval necessary. There are no restrictions for when a deal can be brought to the finance committee or voted on by the full membership, an NFL spokesman tells FOS. The league holds standing meetings each year in March, May, October, and December, and additional meetings can be called at any time, if necessary.

Koch is the widow of Koch Industries majority owner David Koch. She and her family—known for their conservative political donations—have a net worth of $81.2 billion, according to Forbes. Koch Industries is a multinational conglomerate with businesses in an array of fields, from food and fuel to paper products and finance. 

Although the company is headquartered in Wichita, Kans., the family has strong New York ties and is where Julia Koch lives. The Giants deal is her second foray into New York sports in as many years; last June, Koch purchased a minority stake in BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets and New York Liberty.

The deal comes just a few days ahead of the Giants’ first game this season on Sunday against the Commanders.

With franchise valuations soaring and the NFL opening the door to limited private-equity ownership last summer, minority stakes have been selling like teams are all running a two-minute drill. 

In May, in addition to the 49ers deal, the league approved the sale of a 0.1% stake in the Browns to Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, the sale of an 8% stake in the Chargers to PE firm Arctos Partners, and the sale of a 1.1% stake in the Dolphins to an undisclosed group of businessmen. Before that, in December, the NFL approved the sale of a 10% stake in the Bills to Arctos and other limited partners, including former NBA stars Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, as well as the sale of an 8% stake in the Eagles to two investment groups. Last October, Tom Brady bought a roughly 5% stake in the Raiders.

The Giants, Koch, the NFL, and Moelis declined to comment.

Polymarket will be allowed to offer prediction markets in the U.S. after being barred for more than three and a half years, accelerating the battle for prediction-market supremacy.

New York–headquartered Polymarket has been prohibited from operating in the U.S. since entering a settlement with the Biden-era Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 2022. But the company has been plotting its comeback, including through the July acquisition of QCX, a small derivatives exchange that is licensed by the CFTC—a federal regulator charged with policing derivatives markets and overseeing complex financial instruments like futures and swaps.

On Wednesday, the CFTC announced it will not take enforcement action against QCX. 

The news was celebrated by Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan, who posted on social media that the announcement gives the company the “green light to go live” in the U.S. 

As of Wednesday afternoon, Polymarket was still unavailable for users in the U.S. Sources familiar with the industry tell Front Office Sports that while the CFTC’s announcement is a notable step toward Polymarket reentering the U.S., it will likely take some time before that happens because of the many technical issues that need to be dealt with, including engineering work, stress testing the U.S. product, and ensuring compliance with CFTC requirements.

Coplan—who had been the subject of a federal investigation but in July said that the company had “been cleared of any wrongdoing”—also noted that CFTC staff came to the conclusion “in record timing.” 

The quick process came despite the fact that the CFTC has reportedly lost at least 15% of its employees since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in office. The agency also has an acting commissioner, Caroline Pham, who has remained in her role longer than expected because the confirmation of Trump’s nominee to lead the CFTC, Brian Quintenz, keeps getting delayed.

Quintenz happens to be on the board of Kalshi, which is Polymarket’s main rival in the prediction-markets arena. For months, Kalshi has touted its place as a federally regulated prediction-markets platform as it has sought to gobble up market share. 

Sara Slane, a Kalshi spokesperson, recently told FOS that Polymarket is “illegal,” in contrast to her company, which is regulated by the CFTC. “Not a day goes by that we are not in communication with the CFTC. There is a lot of federal regulatory oversight in what we do, what markets we offer. There’s a stark difference [between us and Polymarket],” she said.

The differences between Kalshi and Polymarket may not be so stark for long now that the CFTC has given the latter the green light to offer event contracts to users in the U.S. The similarities don’t end with the fact that they’re both prediction-markets platforms; both work with the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., who has been a strategic advisor to Kalshi since January and recently took a seat on Polymarket’s advisory board and invested in the company through his venture capital firm.

NFL running back Saquon Barkley is also an investor in Polymarket, according to a recent report. That’s notable because of the controversial sports event contracts offered by companies like Polymarket and Kalshi, which allow users to “trade” on the outcomes of sporting events, such as whether Barkley will be the NFL MVP this season. The NFL recently said it has the same integrity and compliance concerns about prediction markets as it does traditional sports betting, although it’s not clear whether the league takes any issue with a player investing in a prediction-markets business. 

The sports products offered by Kalshi and Polymarket have come under particular scrutiny due to their similarity to sports betting. Kalshi has been fighting in court with state regulators in Nevada, New Jersey, and Maryland, who want to prohibit the sports event contracts. 

Those and other regulators face a tall task in stopping the prediction-market momentum. Other players have entered the scene, including Underdog Sports, which on Tuesday announced it will offer sports event contracts in 16 states through a deal with Crypto.com. Elsewhere, the major sports leagues and traditional sportsbooks are very much aware of the growth in prediction markets; FanDuel recently announced a deal with derivatives exchange CME Group to enter prediction markets, although sports will not be part of the offerings, at least to start.

Kalshi declined to comment Wednesday, and representatives for Polymarket, Kalshi, Trump Jr., and the NFL did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Michael Jordan’s racing team got another legal setback.

23XI was pushing for a court to bar NASCAR from selling charters, but a judge said no because NASCAR has already agreed not to sell charters.

Jordan’s 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports sued NASCAR in October over allegations the organization is a monopoly that hoards revenue and pushes teams around in negotiations. The lawsuit did not seek a specific amount in damages; instead, it wants NASCAR to be found to have “willfully” engaged in anticompetitive conduct to the detriment of its teams, and a ruling that it stop that behavior.

It was filed after both teams refused to sign a new charter agreement in September that was offered by NASCAR. Charters ensure that teams can compete in Cup Series races and guarantee access to NASCAR’s revenues.

The Wednesday ruling from U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell denied a request from 23XI Racing and Front Row for a preliminary injunction prohibiting NASCAR from selling any more charters this season. The decision came after NASCAR last week voluntarily committed not to “issue, sell, convey, or lease any additional Charters” while the litigation remains pending. The plaintiffs were not satisfied, telling the judge on Tuesday that the injunction was “necessary.”

The judge disagreed, saying that “plaintiffs cannot show the likelihood of imminent irreparable harm sufficient to support a Preliminary Injunction.” The judge cited NASCAR’s “renewed commitments to the Court.”

NASCAR welcomed the court’s decision in an emailed statement, saying it “brings much-needed clarity to the remainder of the 2025 NASCAR season.”

Jeffrey Kessler of law firm Winston & Strawn, who is representing 23XI Racing and Front Row, said in an emailed statement his clients are “grateful that Judge Bell has made clear that the status quo is being maintained—protecting my clients’ rights to regain their charters if they prevail at trial and ensuring their ability to continue racing through the 2025 season based on NASCAR’s commitments.”

A trial in the contentious case—which is playing out amid the NASCAR playoffs—is scheduled to begin this December. The judge has previously urged both sides to settle, saying in June, “It scares me to death to think about what all this is costing.”

The case is currently in the discovery phase, which has given a rare glimpse into private communications on both sides, including blunt text messages sent by Jordan and former Daytona winner Denny Hamlin, co-owner of 23XI Racing. Last fall, 13 racing teams signed charters with NASCAR, some of which contended they had no leverage regarding the terms.

“Teams are going to regret not joining us,” Jordan wrote in a text message to Curtis Polk, his business manager who is also a co-owner of 23XI Racing. Jordan also called Joe Gibbs and other racing owners “fuckers” and “pussies” for agreeing to charter terms. 

Private messages from NASCAR executives were also revealed during last week’s hearing, including an email written by commissioner Steve Phelps that said talks weren’t progressing after an early charter proposal to teams. Another message to coworkers said that racing teams could “pick a date and can either sign or lose their charters. It is that simple.”