(Credit: ecrow/Adobe Stock) Even Private Equity Bows to the Market Power of the NFL
The initial list of six approved investment firms will limit the fresh opportunities for Big Law, but expect more chances for dealmakers to unfold over time.
August 28, 2024 at 04:33 PM
5 minute read
What You Need to Know
- The NFL officially voted to allow private equity investment in teams, the last major U.S. sports league to do so.
- The league allowed a small number of PE firms, after an interview process, to take minority investment positions in teams. But there are a lot of caveats.
While expected, the NFL's vote to allow for limited private equity investment in its increasingly valuable teams is still a testimony to how things have changed in sport and sports law in the last several years. And perhaps a nod to the NFL's market power in how it was able to handle the negotiations with private equity investors.
A time for upheaval in the business end of the sporting world, the last several years have seen many changes that a decade or so ago would have seemed unlikely. Prominent investment in professional women's sports leagues, name/image/likeness payouts for college athletes, $100 billion television rights deals and outside investment in leagues and teams have created an economic juggernaut for those who get to play in the sandbox.
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