Goldman Sachs Says Even Billionaires Can't Afford to Own a Pro Sports Team Outright Anymore
A new Goldman Sachs report finds that private equity and institutional capital have driven sports team valuations so high that only a very short list of the world's wealthiest can still buy a team outright, pushing even billionaires toward minority stakes and structured financing instead.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, wearing a light blue blazer, smiles while talking with Jeff Bezos on the sideline of a football game · Photo: Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images
A new Goldman Sachs report argues that owning a professional sports team outright, once simply a matter of being rich enough, is no longer within reach for most of the world's wealthiest people. The report, titled Playing for Scale and led by Nicole Pullen Ross, who heads Goldman's Private Wealth Management Sports and Entertainment Solutions group, found that institutional capital and private equity have driven valuations so high that only what Pullen Ross described as a very short list of the world's richest individuals can still buy full control of a team.
The shift has happened quickly. Private equity deals in professional sports rose from 50 in 2018 to 192 in 2025, and 74 North American teams now carry some form of private equity or institutional ownership. Valuations have climbed alongside that capital: the Los Angeles Chargers' valuation jumped from $5.8 billion to $8.6 billion after Arctos Partners bought an 8% stake, and the Philadelphia Eagles sold an 8% stake of their own at an $8.3 billion valuation.
Leagues have built rules around the new money rather than resisting it. The NFL opened the door to institutional investors in 2024, requiring funds to hold at least $2 billion in capital, cap any single team at 20% of that capital, and take a minimum 3% stake, with investors like Arctos committing to holding periods of at least six years. The effect has been to formalize private equity's role rather than keep it out, leaving individual buyers competing against funds built for exactly this kind of long, patient capital.
Women's sports are being squeezed by the same institutional wave, arguably even faster. WNBA teams now average a $414 million valuation, up 52% in a year, while NWSL teams average $200 million, up 49%. The Golden State Valkyries generated $78 million in revenue in their first WNBA season in 2025, and the overall women's sports market is projected to reach $3.04 billion in 2026, up from just $690 million in 2022. A new WNBA media rights deal now averages $200 million a year, four times the league's previous contract. Even so, no WNBA team yet owns its own arena, and the audience gap with men's sports remains wide: more than 50 WNBA games drew at least 1 million viewers last year, against roughly 20 million for the top men's games.
For the wealthy individuals being priced out of outright ownership, the report points to a different playbook: minority stakes, limited partnerships, and structured financing rather than control. Goldman itself offers loans against liquid assets, real estate equity, and existing private equity stakes so clients can buy into teams without paying cash upfront. College sports is emerging as the next arena for this kind of capital, following the NCAA's $2.8 billion settlement with athletes in 2025 and deals like Otro Capital's $500 million investment into Crimson Brand Partners, which holds a stake tied to the University of Utah's athletic program.
