The NFL’s approval of the private equity plan is “expected to come at the league’s annual meeting next month,” according to sources cited by Boudway, Williams & Turner of BLOOMBERG NEWS. In September, the NFL formed a special committee of five owners to consider “ending a block on private-equity funds.” The U.S.’s other top sports leagues have “already lowered the gates for such investors, but the country’s most popular one has remained a holdout.” Chiefs CEO and Chair Clark Hunt said in an interview that the league has been “watching as other sports dip their toes into private equity.” Hunt: “I do think it is an avenue that can be helpful from a capital standpoint,” said Hunt, who is also chairman of the NFL’s finance committee.” According to one NFL team exec, clearing a path for private equity is “likely to result in a series of deals in short order,” with six to eight teams “potentially selling minority stakes within a year.” The NFL’s prosperity has made “maintaining such cohesion a costlier and more complicated proposition,” as an aging cohort of owners aims to “keep their families in control and avoid exposing heirs to hundreds of millions in tax liabilities.” Specialized private equity firms have set up funds to buy passive stakes in franchises in the NBA, MLB and the NHL. For the NFL, allowing in such vehicles would “help teams raise capital and give minority partners a way to cash out” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 2/8).
