NFL to maintain 10% PE ownership cap despite MLB and NBA changes

The NFL has no immediate plans to increase its 10% cap on team ownership stakes for private equity firms, despite recent moves by Major League Baseball and the NBA to loosen their respective restrictions, according to a report by Front Office Sports.

The reporter cites several unnamed people familiar with the situation as saying that NFL owners currently see no pressing need to raise the league’s 10% ceiling on private equity ownership. The limit could eventually be revisited, but there is no expectation that an increase will be discussed at the league’s next quarterly owners’ meeting in October.

The NFL introduced private equity ownership for the first time in August 2024, when owners voted 31-1 to permit franchises to sell minority stakes to a group of approved investment firms. The Cincinnati Bengals were the only team to vote against the change.

Under the existing rules, private equity can collectively own no more than 10% of an NFL franchise, whether the stake is held by one firm or multiple approved investors. Private equity investors receive no voting rights and must hold their stakes for at least six years.

The NFL’s position contrasts with developments elsewhere in US professional sports. MLB recently increased the amount a single private equity firm can own in a franchise from 15% to 20%, bringing its limit into line with the NBA’s existing threshold. Both leagues apply lower limits where a team’s controlling owner holds less than a 20% stake.

The NBA has also recently changed its rules to allow a private equity firm and executives from that firm to invest in the same franchise simultaneously.

The NFL continues to operate under a broader set of ownership restrictions. A team’s controlling owner must hold at least 30% of the franchise, while ownership groups can include no more than 25 members. Teams are also subject to limits on acquisition and operating debt, with combined borrowing capped at $1.5bn.

Public companies and sovereign wealth funds cannot directly own stakes in NFL teams. However, sovereign wealth funds can invest in a private equity vehicle that owns an NFL franchise, provided the individual sovereign investor does not own more than 7.5% of that fund.

An approved private equity vehicle can hold stakes in as many as six NFL teams, subject to the league’s rules.

The NFL’s original list of approved private equity investors included Arctos Partners, Ares Management and Sixth Street Partners, alongside a consortium comprising Blackstone, Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners, Dynasty Equity and Ludis, the sports investment platform founded by Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Curtis Martin. Blackstone and CVC have since left that consortium.

Apollo Sports Capital, the sports investment arm of Apollo Global Management, is not currently among the league’s approved investors. Sam Porter, Apollo’s chief strategy officer, has previously said the firm would like to gain approval. Apollo recently invested more than $2bn in the New York Yankees.