Clifford Chance
The NFL opens its door to Private Equity
9 September 2024
On August 27, 2024, NFL owners approved an update to the NFL investment and ownership rules (the "PE Investment Rules") to allow private equity investment in teams. From its inception, the NFL has limited team ownership to a select "chosen" group of individuals, making NFL owners the most exclusive club in US professional sports. Over the last five years, however, there's been a confluence of factors that have energized the NFL to allow private equity off the sidelines and into the field of play. The average NFL team is now worth US$6.49 billion1 , with no team valued at less than US$5.25 billion.2 Lofty valuations, coupled with the US$700 million debt limit imposed on teams3 , significantly limit the number of individuals able to write equity checks in excess of a billion dollars, making ownership highly illiquid. What's more, the average age of controlling owners continues to increase; the average controlling owner in the NFL is 72.4 As a result, controlling owners are now, more than ever, appreciating the need to establish an attainable exit strategy and estate plan for their next of kin.
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