Ted Leonsis Says His $7B Sports Empire Beats the NFL Model

Ted Leonsis wouldn’t trade his pro sports monolith Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) for even the most lucrative NFL franchise. 

While he once considered bidding on Washington’s NFL team, then still named the Redskins, Leonsis now believes his integrated sports, real estate, and media enterprise offers more upside—and control. 

“My asset, our asset, I bet you one of the reports will come out and say Monumental Sports is valued at $7 plus billion. Well, that’s what NFL teams are going for. Now, it’s a team versus all these assets,” Leonsis told Front Office Sports on a recent episode of Portfolio Players.

Monumental owns the Washington Capitals (NHL), Wizards (NBA), Mystics (WNBA), Capital City Go-Go (NBA G League), Capital One Arena, and the local regional sports network, previously NBC Sports Washington and now rebranded to Monumental Sports Network.

“We bring 3 million people into our venue. A football team plays eight games, nine games, ten games at 50,000, 60,000 [people]. When you look, don’t sell short these conglomerates that own an NBA, WNBA [team],” Leonsis added.

For Leonsis and Monumental, it’s not just about how many fans show up, and how often, but about how many different ways they can plug in. That’s where he believes the NFL model falls short. 

Given its scope, MSE offers something rare in the sports world: year-round viewer engagement, cross-league promotions, and full operational control. With its teams, arena, and media network all under one roof, the company creates synergy across every part of the fan experience. 

Rogers Communications (which owns the Blue Jays and SkyDome where the Jays play, and 75% of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, and Argonauts) and Liberty Media (which owns F1 and has spun off the Atlanta Braves into a separate company) are two of the comps Leonsis draws to his MSE, though Rogers and Liberty are publicly traded companies.

Some NFL franchise valuations are already past $7 billion. The 49ers recently sold new minority stakes that value the team at $8.5 billion, while elite franchises like the Dallas Cowboys have been valued at more than $10 billion. But Leonsis believes the future of sports ownership is in building a unified platform, not holding a single prized asset. 

“We’re in a big market, we have a fidelity in our strategy, we have one platform and we’re growing,” he told Front Office Sports. “We’re doing it right.”