NFL Acquires More of Genius Sports to Boost Betting, Data

The NFL is upping its equity stake in data company Genius Sports, further expanding the scope of one of the league’s largest and most important outside investments. 

As part of a two-year contract extension the league and Genius Sports unveiled on Wednesday that stretches into early 2030, the NFL will gain an additional 9.5 million stock warrants in the publicly traded company, 4.5 million of which vest immediately, and the other 5 million in April 2028. At current market rates, that equity stake is worth more than $90 million. 

The latest batch of equity, joined with undisclosed license fees in the deal, adds to an initial set of 14.5 million warrants the NFL holds, which were gained after Genius Sports struck its first deal in 2021 to be the exclusive distributor of official league data. That older stake is now worth about $140 million.

Once the latest batch of warrants vests entirely, the NFL is poised to own about 8.7% of Genius Sports, making the league the company’s largest shareholder and deepening a tie in which the company’s data is used across a series of betting, media, and fan engagement settings. Many of the NFL’s other licensees and business partners purchase Genius Sports data, further intertwining several parts of league operations.

Additional regulatory responsibilities, however, kick in once the equity threshold in a public company reaches 10%, so it will bear watching whether other moves are made to keep the league under that level. 

“The NFL delivers a tremendous platform to accelerate our business, and we are thrilled to extend and grow our strategic partnership,” Genius Sports CEO Mark Locke said in a statement. 

The league’s stake in Genius Sports could have been even larger, as a prior extension signed in 2023 originally called for 4 million additional warrants, but that contract term was subsequently altered to convert that payment to cash. Another batch of 4 million warrants was gained in the first deal signed in 2021, but were likely sold or redistributed to individual teams earlier this year.

As for the stock itself, Genius Sports shares have risen more than 80% in the last year to nearly $10 per share, helping reverse some of the drop of about 90% between April 2021 and July 2022. Collectively, the vested and unvested stake for the NFL in Genius Sports is now worth more than $230 million. 

Broader Mission

The Genius Sports equity holding is part of a still-growing NFL venture portfolio that has included investments in major entities such as Fanatics and NFL Sunday Ticket commercial distributor EverPass Media. 

“Across data, video, advertising, and integrity services, Genius has proven to be an important strategic partner,” said NFL VP of business development and strategic investments Brent Lawton in a statement.