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It’s been a busy week in Fenway Sports Group’s portfolio.
John Henry’s company, which owns the Red Sox, Penguins, Liverpool, and several other assets, had its three biggest teams in the headlines.
On Sunday, the Red Sox shockingly traded star third baseman turned designated hitter Rafael Devers in a blockbuster trade to the Giants. The deal came after communication between Devers and the team broke down amid the signing of third baseman Alex Bregman. Devers had signed a 10-year, $313.5 million deal in just 2023, and did not want to change positions.
While Red Sox fans were aggravated to lose another star young hitter, Liverpool was spending big. On Friday, it was reported that FSG’s soccer team would add German midfielder Florian Wirtz on a $157.5 million transfer—the largest in the history of English soccer.
And on Wednesday, TSN reported that a trio of the Penguins former owners—team legend Mario Lemieux and American businessmen Ron Burkle and David Morehouse— are interested in buying the minority stake in the franchise that FSG has had on the market since January. FSG bought the team from the group for $900 million in 2021.
“FSG is currently engaged in a process to explore a potential minority investment in the Penguins,” a spokesperson told FOS last week. “The focus is on identifying a small, passive partner. That is the current framework under discussion with potential investors.”
Red Sox fans have been displeased with the team’s spending in recent years. The team traded star player Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in 2020, two years removed from its last World Series title; the team has only made the playoffs once since winning that ring.
Henry has pushed back on the notion that the Red Sox have suffered because his focus and dollars have been elsewhere.
“There would be a risk,” he told the Financial Times last year, “If FSG was not so deep and strong in personnel.”
Liverpool won the Premier League last month, the Penguins finished the regular season 13th in the Eastern Conference and the Red Sox are currently 37–36 and fourth in the AL East.
Devers’ contract is the most expensive in team history and came before striking out on Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto in free agency the past two offseasons. In 2023, Henry said “It’s expensive to have baseball players,” to boos at a fan event in Springfield, Mass. The Devers trade does come with significant savings: The Giants will pay the remaining $250 million on Devers’ deal.
“You have to base acquisitions and dispositions on the future, not the past,” he told the FT last year. “That is unpopular generally.”
Editors Note: RedBird Capital is an investor in Fenway Sports Group. It is also the parent company of RedBird IMI, the majority owner of Front Office Sports.
