NFL Rumors: Owners to Vote on Rule Change to Allow Private Equity Investments | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats & Rumors

The NFL may take steps to allow private equity firms to invest in franchises.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the league has scheduled a meeting for all 32 team owners on August 27 to vote on a rule that would allow some franchises to be sold to private equity.

Ben Fischer from the Sports Business Magazine reported in May that NFL owners agreed to a framework that would allow private equity to join ownership groups, with the policy expected to be finalized in the “coming months.”

Florio noted that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had previously asked the owners to keep the Aug. 27 date, but that the actual meeting “depended on whether the committee that studied the private equity issue would come up with a final and definitive proposal.”

According to Florio, there are several factors that are taken into account: the maximum percentage a private equity firm is allowed to invest, whether a team is allowed to sell parts to multiple companies, whether one company is allowed to own a stake in multiple teams and whether a team is allowed to buy back the percentages sold to private equity.

According to Florio, the maximum percentage of a franchise that can be sold is expected to be set at 10 percent.

The NFL is the last of the major sports leagues in the United States to not allow private equity ownership. The NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS all allow private equity to own up to 30 percent of a franchise.

According to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, the NFL has held meetings with seven different private equity firms to discuss their potential future ownership.

The NFL is considering private equity investments as franchise values ​​continue to rise. Sporty released a ranking of the top 10 NFL franchises on Tuesday, with the Dallas Cowboys leading the way with $10.32 billion in revenue.

Each of the top 10 teams on the list is worth more than $6 billion. These values ​​make it increasingly difficult for individuals to purchase a franchise as they become available.

For example, Josh Harris had to assemble a group of 20 people to raise money for his $6.05 billion purchase of the Washington Commanders, which was approved by the NFL in July 2023.

In theory, adding private equity investment would make it easier to find partners for sports teams, but there are some notable risks associated with allowing that kind of money into a league.

The NFL appears to be one of the safest money-making entities in the world. The league generated $13 billion in national revenue last year, with Goodell previously talking about a goal of increasing that to $25 billion by 2027.