Private Equity Enters NFL Ownership: League Approves Historic Investment

EAGAN, Minn. — The NFL on Tuesday approved the introduction of private equity into team ownership, at last bringing a lucrative source of capital into the largest and most dominant U.S. pro sports league.

The highly anticipated league vote, taken in a special meeting held here, will allow private equity investors up to 10% of an individual team’s equity—below other comparable leagues that allow up to 30%. An approved firm can hold stakes in up to six teams. The vote to approve was 31–1, with the Bengals standing as the lone dissent. 

“This has been a long process,” said Joe Siclare, NFL EVP of finance, following the vote. “Our ownership policy is one of the key foundational elements of our business model. … We were very deliberate in this approach, very measured. This is a very important thing for the league, and we have the benefit of having a lot of interest in the investment community.”

The approval, however, is by no means a free-for-all. There are only eight approved firms that can participate, at least at the outset, and there is a provision in which the league can force a sale of an equity stake held by private equity if a firm violates league terms, including conduct clauses. Additionally no governance rights in teams will be included in any of the deals. The involved firms will also be required to hold their team stakes for a minimum of six years. There is also a requirement in which the NFL will take a percentage of private equity stake sales, known as “carry.” The level of that fee will vary, but in concept, the practice differs from private equity policies adopted by other major U.S. leagues.

“The private equity firms that participate in this involved absolutely understood and expected that the NFL would have a collective [profit] participation in this,” said league commissioner Roger Goodell. “We think it’s appropriate, the private equity firms thought it was appropriate, and the way to approach this.”

Heavy Hitters

The involved firms include:

• Arctos Partners
• Ares Management
• Sixth Street Partners
• A consortium of Blackstone Partners, CVC Capital Partners, Carlyle Group, Dynasty Equity, and Ludis. The latter firm was founded and is led by Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.

Many of these firms have already been highly active across many other parts of the sports industry. The approval is expected to set up several deals that are targeted to close before the end of the year.

“The NFL has taken a prudent, cautious approach, and by doing this in the way that they have, they’ve created a marketplace and will be in position to generate the very best deals,” George Pyne, Bruin Capital founder and CEO, tells Front Office Sports. 

Arctos in particular touted its role as the only firm approved to invest in the five largest North American pro leagues.

“While there is much work ahead, today is a milestone reflecting Arctos’ commitment to the sports industry, our position as the market innovator and passion for being the partner of choice for leading sports ownership groups,” the firm said in a statement.

Urgent Need

The private equity funds will be used for a variety of purposes, including recapitalization of clubs, generating additional liquidity, and stadium projects. Fast-rising franchise values, increasingly out of reach for even the uber-wealthy, also added to the push to finally get this done after the league’s long deliberation.

“By having four investment groups, each of which bring several billion dollars to the table, there is enough capital to address anybody who wants to avail themselves of this opportunity in the next 18 months,” said Chiefs owner Clark Hunt. “That was one of our goals, to have enough capital and enough firms to create a bit of competition.”