Two years of private equity in the NFL

Max Effgen,

Liquidity without giving up the keys.

If the Seahawks and Patriots meet again in a Super Bowl LX rematch, one investor wins either way.

Sixth Street owns about 3% of the Patriots. In September it also took about 3% of the Seahawks, as part of Vinod Khosla’s record $9.612 billion purchase of the team.

Two years ago, that sentence couldn’t have been written. The NFL was the last major U.S. league to let private equity own a piece of its teams. In August 2024, owners voted 31–1 to change that, with only the Bengals opposed. Two years in, the experiment has done exactly what the owners designed it to do, plus one thing they may not have expected.

What the league built

The rules were written to let money in without letting influence in:

  • Stakes are passive and non-voting.
  • Private equity can own no more than 10% of any team, combined across all funds, and each stake must be at least 3%.
  • A single firm can hold stakes in no more than six teams.
  • Investors must hold for at least six years, and any sale needs league approval.
  • The controlling owner keeps at least 30% of the team.

Only a short list of firms qualifies: Arctos, Ares Management, Sixth Street, and a consortium of Carlyle, Dynasty Equity and Ludis, the firm founded and led by Hall of Famer Curtis Martin. Blackstone and CVC were part of that consortium at the start and have since left it.

For comparison, the NBA, NHL and MLS let private equity own up to 30% of a team, and MLB allows 20%. The NFL’s 10% is the tightest limit among the major U.S. leagues by a wide margin.

The deals

TeamInvestorStakePrice / valuationStatus
BillsArctos10%Terms not disclosed (~$5.8B valuation reported)Approved Dec. 2024
DolphinsAres10%$8.1B (includes stadium and Miami Grand Prix)Approved Dec. 2024
ChargersArctos8%Not disclosedApproved 2025
PatriotsSixth Street~3%Not disclosedClosed
BrownsArctos~3%Not disclosedApproved May 2026
SeahawksSixth Street; Carlyle and Dynasty~3%; ~3% combined$9.612B (control sale)Closed Sept. 2026
FalconsArctos7.5% now; 2.5% later, subject to a separate owners’ vote$10.6BApproved Oct. 20, 2026

Using reported valuations for the deals that have them, private equity has put roughly $2.8 billion into NFL teams, and the second Falcons tranche would push that past $3 billion. Arctos, which KKR acquired in early 2026, is the clear leader. With the Falcons, it now holds stakes in four of the six teams a single firm is allowed.

The scorecard

Liquidity: delivered. Owners raised cash without selling control. The Bills’ sale came as Terry and Kim Pegula faced a $1.25 billion share of their new Highmark Stadium, which hosted its first regular-season game on Sept. 17.

Control: intact. No private equity firm has a vote, and under a 10% cap there is no path to one. Seven teams now have private equity on the cap table, and none of those investors has a say in how the team is run.

Price: not private equity’s to set. This is the part I didn’t expect. Valuations have exploded: Forbes puts the average team at $9.5 billion, up 34% in a year, with every franchise worth at least $8 billion and the Cowboys at $17 billion. Sportico’s more conservative average is $9.34 billion.

But the highest marks have come from individual LPs, not funds. The Koch family bought 10% of the Giants at a valuation above $10 billion. Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin bought 1% of the Dolphins at $12.5 billion, against the $8.1 billion valuation on Ares’s 10% in 2024. Some of that gap is time; NFL franchise values rose sharply in two years. But even this year’s biggest private equity deal, the Falcons at $10.6 billion, sits well below the mark Lin Bin set. And on the Seahawks cap table, the three private equity firms hold the smallest stakes of any minority investors.

Private equity is a reliable buyer at market. Individual LPs pay the premium for proximity. In the NFL, private equity has become the floor, not the ceiling.

Both sides of the table

Earlier this fall I wrote about 32 Equity, the owners’ own investment vehicle. It started in 2013 with about $1 million from each team. Owners have since put in $256 million, including a recent $5 million apiece. The fund bought 3% of Fanatics for $95 million in 2017. It helped form On Location Experiences, then increased its stake when Endeavor bought majority control in 2020 at a $660 million valuation. It has also backed Hyperice and Genius Sports, and in August it sold its stake in EverPass Media to DAZN.

On Oct. 20, at the same New York meeting that approved Arctos’s Falcons stake, owners approved a partnership between 32 Equity and General Atlantic, a growth investor managing about $130 billion. The two will raise a fund for growth-stage companies across sports media, fan engagement, ticketing, hospitality, consumer products and technology. Fund size hasn’t been disclosed, and marketing is expected to start early next year.

The structure is the story. 32 Equity and General Atlantic will each serve as general partners. That gives owners equity upside plus a share of the carried interest, the manager’s cut of the profits. And 32 Equity’s returns sit outside the revenue owners share with players under the salary cap, so the carry is a revenue stream they keep entirely.

Put the two programs side by side. On the same day, owners let private equity into a team as a passive limited partner with no vote, and brought private equity into their own fund as a co-general partner. The league that holds private equity to 10% and no vote inside its teams just made a private equity firm its partner outside them, on GP terms.

The NFL is glad to take outside money. It just wants to be the one holding the keys.

What comes next

  • The rest of the Falcons deal. Arctos’s remaining 2.5% needs its own owners’ vote.
  • Arctos runs short of room. It can add only two more NFL teams under the current rules.
  • The General Atlantic fund. Watch the size of the raise, the first deals, and whether other leagues copy the co-GP structure.
  • The first exits. With a six-year minimum hold, the December 2024 deals can’t sell before late 2030. That is when we learn what returns look like, and whether the league’s approval process makes for a working resale market.

Two years in, the NFL got exactly the deal it designed: liquidity without giving up the keys.

Sources

  1. NFL owners voted 31–1 on August 27, 2024, to allow select private-equity firms to buy passive stakes of up to 10% (minimum 3% per stake). Cincinnati Bengals owner Mike Brown was the sole no vote. Approved firms: Arctos, Ares Management, Sixth Street, and a consortium of Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC, Dynasty Equity, and Ludis (Curtis Martin). Rules: six-year minimum hold, maximum six teams per firm, no voting rights, controlling owner retains ≥30%.
    Sources: Associated Press, Aug. 27, 2024; CNBC, Aug. 27, 2024; NFL.com, Aug. 27, 2024; Sportico, Aug. 27, 2024; The Washington Post, Aug. 27, 2024.
  2. Blackstone and CVC later exited the consortium.
    Sources: Contemporary league reporting and deal coverage, 2025–2026.
  3. Bills: Arctos bought 10% (approved December 2024). Reported enterprise valuation ~$5.8 billion. Pegulas sold additional minority stakes in the same process.
    Sources: The Athletic, Dec. 11, 2024; Sports Business Journal, Dec. 11, 2024; Buffalo Bills official release, Dec. 11, 2024.
  4. Highmark Stadium cost overruns and Pegula funding responsibility: original public estimate ~$1.4–1.5 billion; final cost ~$2.1 billion. Pegulas responsible for overruns (public share fixed). First regular-season game: Sept. 17, 2026 (Bills 41, Lions 31).
    Sources: Associated Press, June 23, 2026; Sports Business Journal, Dec. 11, 2024 and Sept. 17–18, 2026; multiple game reports, Sept. 17–18, 2026. (Draft’s $1.25 billion Pegula share is consistent with public reporting of their residual obligation after public contributions.)
  5. Dolphins: Ares bought 10% at an $8.1 billion valuation (includes stadium and Miami Grand Prix assets), approved December 2024.
    Sources: The Athletic, Dec. 11, 2024; Sports Business Journal, Dec. 11, 2024; Reuters/Field Level Media, Oct. 17, 2026.
  6. Xiaomi co-founder Lin Bin bought 1% of the Dolphins (and related assets) at a $12.5 billion valuation in early 2026.
    Sources: Sportico, March 3, 2026; Associated Press, March 31, 2026; Sports Business Journal, March 3, 2026; Forbes, March 4, 2026.
  7. Chargers: Arctos acquired 8% (approved 2025). Terms not publicly disclosed.
    Sources: Sports Business Journal reporting on Arctos portfolio, 2025–2026.
  8. Patriots: Sixth Street acquired ~3%. Terms not publicly disclosed.
    Sources: Contemporary PE deal roundups and Seahawks coverage referencing Sixth Street’s prior NFL stake.
  9. Browns: Arctos acquired ~3% (approved May 2026). Terms not publicly disclosed.
    Sources: Sports Business Journal, May 19, 2026.
  10. Seahawks: Control sale to the Khosla family closed at $9.612 billion (approved Aug. 26, 2026; closed early September 2026). Sixth Street took ~3%; Carlyle and Dynasty Equity took a combined ~3%. These were among the smallest minority stakes in the ownership group.
    Sources: Seattle Times, Sept. 3, 2026; NFL.com, Sept. 3, 2026; Sportico, Aug. 26, 2026; Sports Business Journal, Sept. 3, 2026; The Athletic, Aug. 26, 2026.
  11. Falcons: Arctos approved for 7.5% on Oct. 20, 2026, with a commitment for an additional 2.5% subject to a later owners’ vote. Blended figure for 10% reported at $10.6 billion. Arctos is a KKR business (acquisition closed May 2026).
    Sources: Atlanta Falcons official release, Oct. 20, 2026; NBC Sports/Pro Football Talk, Oct. 20, 2026; Sports Business Journal, Oct. 21, 2026; prior reporting (Aug. 2026) on the $10.6 billion figure.
  12. Forbes 2026 NFL valuations: average $9.5 billion (+34% year-over-year), every team ≥$8 billion, Cowboys $17 billion. Sportico 2026 average: $9.34 billion.
    Sources: Forbes, “The NFL’s Most Valuable Teams 2026,” Sept. 9, 2026; Sportico, “NFL Team Values 2026,” Aug. 12, 2026; Sports Business Journal comparison, Sept. 10, 2026.
  13. Koch family bought 10% of the Giants at a valuation above $10 billion (2025).
    Sources: Contemporary reporting referenced in Sportico and SBJ Dolphins coverage, 2025–2026.
  14. 32 Equity capital: seeded 2013 with ~$1 million per team; subsequent calls brought total committed capital to $256 million.
    Sources: Sportico, Sept. 10, 2026 and Oct. 20, 2026; Sports Business Journal, Oct. 20, 2026 and prior coverage.
  15. 32 Equity investments: 3% of Fanatics for $95 million (2017); On Location Experiences (including 2020 Endeavor transaction at ~$660 million valuation); Hyperice; Genius Sports.
    Sources: Sportico, Sept. 10, 2026; industry reporting on Fanatics and On Location.
  16. 32 Equity sold its stake in EverPass Media to DAZN in August 2026 (DAZN rebranded the commercial distribution platform).
    Sources: Sports Business Journal, Aug. 26, 2026 and Sept. 3, 2026.
  17. On Oct. 20, 2026, NFL owners approved a partnership between 32 Equity and General Atlantic (~$130 billion AUM). The two will serve as co-general partners on a new fund targeting growth-stage companies in sports media, fan engagement, ticketing, hospitality, consumer products, and technology. Fund size not disclosed; marketing expected to begin early 2027. NFL as GP allows owners equity upside plus a share of carried interest outside shared league revenue.
    Sources: Bloomberg, Oct. 20, 2026; Sportico, Oct. 20, 2026; Sports Business Journal, Oct. 20, 2026.

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