Sports investing has become big business, with the 50 most valuable sports teams today worth $353 billion globally and growing fast.

This list is led by the Dallas Cowboys, who were valued at $5 billion six years ago and are now worth $13 billion.

Over the last decade, average revenue growth for NBA and NFL franchises was 141% and 91% respectively.

Market growth is driving deal activity, with celebrities and sports stars getting in on the action.

Michael Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, netting over $2 billion from a $275 million investment 13 years earlier.

Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney investing in then non-league UK soccer club Wrexham AFC has rocketed the club's profile, its on-field fortunes as well as its valuation (from $2.5 million to a reported $475 million in five years).

The two also invested in Alpine Formula 1 team alongside fellow actor Michael B. Jordan and sports stars like Patrick Mahomes and Rory McIlroy.

Family offices are heavily involved too. Goldman Sachs’ 2025 Family Office Investment Insights report highlighted that 25% of family offices are already invested in sports, with 25% keen to pursue sports investment, numbers that reflect the attractive nature of a growing asset class at the intersection of investment focus and personal interest.

Last year alone, wealthy families invested in marquee teams like LA Lakers, New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers.

And while men’s leagues dominate sports investing, women’s leagues are growing fast, notably led in the US by soccer, with the San Diego Wave club recently purchased by a family office.

Perhaps the biggest difference of late has been the private equity effect. As leagues open up to institutional investment, PE firms have purchased stakes in teams in the top top leagues of most sports.

Last year Apollo Global launched a dedicated sports investment fund, which has already purchased a majority ownership stake in Spanish club Atletico Madrid (and a stake in Wrexham AFC).  

But sports investing is also complicated, with leagues having their own regulations, each team its own unpredictable intricacies and beyond this, value comes from more than team performance (the Dallas Cowboys last won the superbowl 30 years ago).

Ego and emotion complicate things, and unlike most asset classes, just having the funds doesn’t enable a successful acquisition.

This was highlighted this week when we spoke to veteran financier Laurie Pinto whose boutique sports investment agency Pinto Capital specializes in discrete transactions.

“Sport cannot have traditional financial metrics applied to it without context, nuance and emotion built in from the very beginning,” says Pinto, adding that nearly all non-US sports assets are loss-making.

“Therefore we have to look under the lid, in the backrooms and on the pitch to come to reasonable and rational valuations for all parties. Every deal is different and no model can be replicated.”

Pinto highlights that private equity has brought a new level of sophistication that wasn’t always there.

“When I started in sports M&A after 30 years in institutional finance, the space was undeveloped and was a wild west filled with vanity investments. I quickly noticed an expertise gap in the way sophisticated deal structures were taking place, or weren’t! From debt financing to equity incentives, there was a general lack of how financial models could be applied to sports investing.”

With the asset class having proven itself, Pinto Capital now works with everyone from single family offices to private equity and venture capital funds, as well as institutional investors.

“We are solely execution-focused and place a high value on client service and discretion, all of which are needed to ultimately get deals done.”

Pinto notes that the complex nature of transactions together with a common misunderstanding that capital alone wins deals means first-time family offices should take a measured approach.

“First time investors should take time to develop a clear thesis on sports investing: what is their view on how the sport will evolve in the investment period and which type of sports asset complements this thesis? For example, real estate-driven sports assets, horizontal player trading, distressed investments, or one-club cities.”

“General perspectives yield general results. We work with our clients to help them develop their investment thesis before executing on this with a hyper-specific strategy.”

He mentions that family office clients are usually a pleasure as they can build meaningful and lasting relationships, and from his experience make decisions swiftly, with a clear vision.

When it comes to sourcing opportunities for clients, Pinto Capital works across most major professional sports assets in the UK, Europe, US, and relies entirely on their established relationships.

“We curate and nurture our expansive network; as a result a large majority of opportunities are referred to us. We can discretely and strategically reach any club with whom an investor wants to speak.”

Patience is considered an advantageous characteristic of most family offices, and from Pinto’s perspective, this particularly suits the nuanced nature of sports investments.

“The art of the deal is exactly that - fine strokes, shades of grey and waiting for the paint to dry can get you the club you really want.”

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