Woody Johnson is the latest NFL owner to get involved in the Premier League with the purchase of John Textor’s 43% stake in Crystal Palace, solving an issue over ownership interests Textor had in multiple clubs that qualified for a UEFA tournament.

The Jets owner has “signed a legally binding contract” to buy the 43% Crystal Palace stake that was owned by Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings Limited, according to a Monday statement. Financial terms were not disclosed, although reports are saying Johnson is paying around £190 million ($254 million). Johnson, 78, served as ambassador to the U.K. during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The agreement must still receive approval from the Premier League, but Crystal Palace said in Monday’s statement it does not “envisage any issues and look forward to welcoming Woody as a partner and director of the club.”

“We would like to go on record to thank John Textor for his contribution over the past four years and wish him every success for the future,” the club said.

Crystal Palace’s other co-owners, including Josh Harris and David Blitzer—major players in the U.S. sports space who own the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia 76ers, and New Jersey Devils through Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment LLC—are not part of the deal.

The deal solves a headache for Textor, who was at risk of running afoul of the UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, which stipulate that clubs with common shareholders cannot play in the same European competition in the same season. Both Crystal Palace of the U.K. and Olympique Lyonnais of France have qualified for the 2025–26 UEFA Europa League tournament. In addition to the stake Textor held in Crystal Palace—which he acquired in 2021—he’s been majority owner of Lyon since taking over the club in 2022.

The agreement comes after much clamor over what would happen to Textor’s stake. Reportedly, he was at odds with the UEFA and argued he wasn’t tripping up the rules because he did not have direct influence over the club. A group featuring NBA star Jimmy Butler reportedly also expressed interest in buying Textor’s Crystal Palace stake.

The transaction deepens already significant ties between the Premier League and the NFL. Johnson has owned the Jets since 2000 (when he reportedly paid $635 million for the team). At least six of the 20 Premier League teams have ownership groups that feature a direct connection to NFL ownership. Crystal Palace now has Johnson, as well as the aforementioned Harris and Blitzer (who own the Commanders); Arsenal is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the holding company of Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke; Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Fulham FC is owned by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan; Leeds United is owned by the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers; and Everton recently received a minority investment from a part-owner of the Houston Texans.

There are other American owners involved in the Premier League who are not connected to the NFL. For example, Fenway Sports Group, which owns pro teams including the Boston Red Sox, owns Liverpool, while a group that includes new Los Angeles Lakers owner Mark Walter owns Chelsea FC.

The UEFA takes its multi-club ownership rules seriously. Earlier this month, Irish club Drogheda United Football Club lost its appeal of a UEFA decision removing the team from its 2025–26 Conference League due to non-compliance with multi-club ownership rules (both Drogheda United and Silkeborg IF are owned by U.S. investment firm Trivela Group).

Johnson’s Crystal Palace deal comes a few years after he tried, and failed, to buy Chelsea. He reportedly placed a $2.6 billion bid that was not victorious. In 2022, he told ESPN that “not getting Chelsea is disappointing, but the numbers have gotten so enormous that on one hand, I’m disappointed and on the other hand, financially, I think it’s going to be a huge challenge.”

The UEFA declined to comment and a representative for Johnson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Liberty Media can move forward with its multibillion-dollar acquisition of MotoGP after the European Commission cleared the deal unconditionally, following an in-depth investigation that found the transaction will not harm competition with regard to broadcasting rights for sports content.

The agreement, first announced last April, will see Liberty Media Corporation buy Dorna Sports SL, which is the exclusive commercial-rights holder for the MotoGP World Championship. Under the agreement—which carries an enterprise value of 4.3 billion euros ($4.96 billion)—Liberty Media is buying 86% of MotoGP, with management of the motorcycle racing organization retaining roughly 14% of its equity. The purchase price will be paid in cash, including proceeds from a $1 billion loan, according to a Monday statement from Liberty Media.

The acquisition bolsters Colorado-based Liberty’s sports portfolio, and particularly its assets in the realm of racing. Liberty also owns F1 parent Formula One Group, which it bought from private-equity firm CVC Capital in 2016 at an $8 billion enterprise value.

The European Commission—Europe’s antitrust watchdog—probed the deal for potential anti-competitive effects, including because of the F1 ties. It opened a Phase II investigation of the transaction in December. The regulator raised concerns about whether the deal would “reduce competition in the licensing of broadcasting rights for sports content,” but it ultimately found that MotoGP and F1 are not direct competitors in the sale of sports-media rights, and the transaction does not significantly reduce competition in any national market. 

The European Commission approval represents the final hurdle to closing the agreement. The deal received regulatory scrutiny in Europe but not the U.S. because Dorna is based in Spain, and most of MotoGP’s races and operations are based in Europe. 

Liberty expects to complete the deal imminently, with a closing no later than July 3, it said in a Monday statement.

Longtime Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta will continue to lead MotoGP. He said in a statement Monday that the approval marks “an important milestone confirming the even brighter future that lies ahead for MotoGP.”

MotoGP has seen strong recent growth in its audience and social media following, according to data provided by a representative for the league. Since 2023, its social media following has increased by 44% across Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube; the average audience for televised races in the U.S. is up by 53% so far this season compared to last year; and ticket sales for the Americas GP—a race in Texas that was held in late March—were up 41% this year. 

MotoGP hosted more than 21 motorcycle races across 17 countries last season. It has already held 9 races this season, with 22 total scheduled for 2025. The next event will be held June 27–29 in the Netherlands. The motorcycle races regularly see riders exceeding 220 miles per hour.

Upon closing, MotoGP will be folded into Liberty Media’s Formula One Group tracking stock, including Quint, which provides hospitality services for sports and entertainment events and was purchased by Liberty Media last year.

In addition to MotoGP, F1, and Quint, Liberty Media’s portfolio includes Live Nation and satellite radio company SiriusXM. It previously owned MLB’s Atlanta Braves before spinning the team off into its own independent, publicly traded entity in 2023.

The venture capital playbook is getting an NIL-era rewrite, and college athletes are getting in on the game.

Three current Division I quarterbacks are the latest athletes to invest in The Cashmere Fund, a Nasdaq-listed venture capital fund that allows non-accredited investors to invest in VC-backed start-ups. The players are LaNorris Sellers from the University of South Carolina, Kevin Jennings of Southern Methodist University, and Avery Johnson of Kansas State University. 

All are considered strong candidates to be drafted next year, led by Sellers, 20, who is projected as a top-five draft pick. Jennings, 21, is projected to go in the sixth round next year, and Johnson, 20, is projected to be drafted in the seventh round.

“There was some business savvy in all of them,” Elia Infascelli, CEO of Cashmere, tells Front Office Sports. “Avery Johnson is a business major, for example. They didn’t need to do this, but they wanted to.”

The unveiling of Sellers, Jennings, and Johnson marks the continuation of a hot streak for Cashmere, which also recently announced as investors the reigning NFL MVP, Josh Allen, and his teammate, Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The specific amounts the college quarterbacks (as well as Allen and Hamlin) are contributing to the fund were not disclosed. 

“They are investors in the fund just like any other person would invest in the fund,” Infascelli tells FOS.

The agreement with the three college players is not your average name, image, and likeness deal, but Infascelli says that five years ago—before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in NCAA v. Alston in 2021 that allowed players to capitalize on NIL—this sort of arrangement wouldn’t have been allowed.

The way the deals work with athletes is mutually beneficial to them and the fund, Infascelli says. The athletes help Cashmere gain new eyeballs, while Cashmere gives them real-world experience as VC investors.

The fund is open to the public. Anyone can invest, with a minimum investment of $500, and there are quarterly disclosure filings to keep investors up to date on performance. As of the end of March, the fund had about $16 million in assets under management, according to its latest disclosure.

It’s an evergreen fund, which means it has no defined lifespan and can continue to raise capital on an open-ended basis. It invests across a range of sectors, with the highest percentage being in the consumer goods space. Almost 24% of its funds are invested across companies in that area—Graza Olive Oil and clothing company Feat Socks are two examples. The fund has also invested in artificial intelligence, consumer technology, and health care, among other areas. There are two annual redemption windows during which investors can cash out if they want.

Launched in 2022, Cashmere has lofty goals. It eventually hopes to draw 100,000 individual investors. Today, it has around 5,000. Additional athlete and celebrity investors could join the fold in the future, although there is no one else specific on the horizon. 

Infascelli is excited about the fund’s future, especially with the addition of Sellers, Jennings, and Johnson.

“At 18, 19, or 21, to think about long-term relationships and invest without any immediate upside today, that’s rare,” he says.