Raphael Stevens

NFL owners are content to hold on to their teams as valuations soar.
The Seattle Seahawks will likely change majority ownership in the coming years.
Beyond the Seahawks, it’s difficult to name another clear candidate.
A new rule allowing private equity ownership of up to 10% of teams can give owners more liquidity if they want to sell a small stake in their team.

Abbie Parr | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks may be the next National Football League team to sell. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess when another franchise will change hands.
Former Seahawks owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died in 2018. Since Allen’s death, the team has been controlled by a trust run by Allen’s sister, Jody. Allen’s estate calls for the team to eventually be sold, with the proceeds going to charity. But there’s no clear timetable for a transaction to take place.

Allen’s trust has reason to wait — and it’s the same logic for why other team owners may not sell any time soon.
NFL valuations will likely keep rising in the years to come because of the league’s media rights deal, expansion and the addition of games, according to Marc Ganis, a sports consultant who advises NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and league owners. Owners risk missing big gains if they offload teams now.
“We are not even close to the top of the market for the NFL,” said Ganis. “The NFL is still in a growth phase in terms of appreciation and in terms of net revenue.” 
The average NFL team is now worth $6.49 billion, and no team is valued at less than $5.25 billion, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations. Seven of the last 10 NFL teams to be sold outperform the S&P 500 on a percentage-gained basis since the sale.

More coverage of the 2024 Official NFL Team Valuations

Driven by growth in leaguewide media, sponsorship and licensing deals — which are split among all 32 teams — the average franchise had $640 million in revenue and $127 million in operating income last year, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.

The NFL’s new media rights deal fully kicked in last year. It’s an 11-year agreement that runs through 2033 and is worth more than $110 billion — an 80% increase from the league’s previous deal. There’s also a clause that allows the league to opt out of all packages except Disney’s at the end of the 2028-2029 season; the NFL has an out clause for Disney’s deal after 2030.
That option will give owners another chance at cashing in after the National Basketball Association nearly tripled the value of its own media rights in July. Hypothetical future bids from deep-pocketed technology companies such as Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet’s YouTube may lead to surges in value for the NFL’s most-watched games. TV ratings continue to increase: The 2023-24 season’s ratings jumped 7% from a year earlier, ending as the second-highest rated since data was first tracked in 1995.
“The NFL is the largest and most valuable audience in the U.S. for advertisers,” said Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports and founder and president of Pilson Communications. “The NBA deal will be a benchmark, but it will also be ancient history by the time the NFL renews, even if it opts out. That’s still four years away. Everyone is aware of how well the NBA did. But in the end, the NFL’s rights deal will be predicated on its audience and the revenue third parties think it can generate from being a partner.”
The expected addition of an 18th regular season game in the coming years and Goodell’s interest in boosting the NFL’s popularity internationally by adding games in Spain, Germany and Brazil should also lead to increased league revenue and higher valuations, said Ganis.
“The NFL has barely scratched the surface on international revenues,” he said.

Illiquid market

An NFL team is sold about once every 3½ years, Ganis said. Those sales are typically driven by death or scandal — making it tricky to predict when another team could change hands.
The last NFL franchise to sell was the Washington Commanders — a deal completed in 2023 after league owners effectively forced Daniel Snyder to relinquish the team amid allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace. Josh Harris, who also owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils, bought the Commanders for a record $6 billion.
Each of the last four NFL team sales has set a new record, showcasing the rise in valuations. Billionaire businessman Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim, acquired the Buffalo Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion after the death of Ralph Wilson, the franchise’s founding owner. That sum was topped in 2018 by hedge fund manager David Tepper’s purchase of the Carolina Panthers for $2.3 billion. The Panthers sold after the NFL fined previous owner Jerry Richardson for workplace misconduct.
Rob Walton, a member of the family that owns Walmart, led a group that bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022 after the death of Pat Bowlen.
Those investments have ballooned in a few short years. Today, the Bills are worth $5.35 billion, the Panthers are valued at $5.9 billion, and the Broncos’ value has increased to $6.2 billion, according to CNBC’s 2024 Valuations.
The NFL prefers to have owners that span decades because they’ll favor long-term decision-making over short-term profits, said Ganis. Modernized estate planning to reduce taxes has led to more family handoffs from one generation to another, he said.
That has further decreased full-franchise sales. The NFL mandates every team have a written succession plan in case its owner dies. The Chicago Bears are currently owned by 101-year-old Virginia Halas McCaskey, the daughter of team founder George Halas. As planned, when McCaskey dies, the Bears ownership will be distributed among her children and controlled by her eighth-oldest child, George McCaskey, the 68-year-old who currently is the team’s chairman.
“The league’s decision-makers have enormous skin in the game,” said Ganis. “They’re not paid employees with voting rights. They’re making choices thinking generationally.”

Private equity’s role

Limited franchise turnover and soaring valuations have led Goodell to favor allowing private equity ownership for the first time. NFL owners voted last week to allow select private equity firms to buy up to a 10% stake of a team. Each fund or consortium will be able to do deals with up to six teams.
The Miami Dolphins, the Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers are among the teams that will likely explore selling minority stakes to private equity, according to people familiar with the matter. The Bills are considering selling up to 25% of the team in total.
Spokespeople for those three teams declined to comment.
The initial firms approved to invest are Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners and Arctos Partners, as well as a consortium that includes Dynasty Equity, Blackstone, Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners and Ludis, a platform founded by investor and former NFL running back Curtis Martin. That list is likely to grow with time, said Tracy Gallagher, head of private investments at Arta Finance, a digital wealth management platform.
“The NFL has clearly put liquidity at the forefront,” said Gallagher. “This is the first of many steps toward adding more buyer options.”
The league is treading carefully and taking baby steps with private equity ownership. The NBA, the NHL and Major League Baseball allow up to 30% ownership by private equity firms. The NFL has limited ownership to 10% with select firms and intends to take a percentage of the so-called carry — the profit that fund managers keep after hitting return thresholds for their limited partners.
“I think our league is unique in that we still have 32 individual owners,” said Robert Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, in a CNBC interview Aug. 28. “We have a very special culture and we wanted to be mindful that we didn’t do anything to change the substance of what makes our league so great.”
“Some of the ownership groups have real problems with the illiquidity,” he said. “They have big families and have to solve a lot of problems that are not usual. And so we thought this was a great source of capital and could be done in a way that was very functional and wouldn’t affect the [team] operation,” he added.
Kraft told CNBC the league’s hesitancy to allow more than 10% private equity ownership was about highlighting teams’ roles in their local communities over making money.
“Limiting the investment to 10% is a way to keep it under control, from our point of view,” he said.
Still, the league’s onerous restrictions may limit investment interest, even as NFL franchises have a clear upward valuation trajectory, said Gallagher.
“These are crown jewel assets, but at the end of the day, private equity managers get wealthy on carry,” said Gallagher. “If you take away a portion of that, you’re taking away incentive to buy these assets.”
Gallagher also noted other standard private equity investments have downside protection and offer board seats in case valuations plummet. The NFL doesn’t have plans to allow governance rights to private equity firms at this point.
“It will be very interesting to see what exactly funds are buying and how are they protected to deliver returns to their end investors,” said Gallagher.
WATCH: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft on new NFL private equity rules

Join us on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles for CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan. This high-powered event brings together industry leaders, visionaries and influencers, along with executives and investors to explore the dynamic intersection of business, sports, music and entertainment. For more information and to request an invitation, click here. More

Beyond Meat plans to launch a whole-muscle steak alternative that mimics the taste and texture of a filet.
The plant-based meat company announced a turnaround plan earlier this year and is hoping to revive sales.
Beyond is hoping to win over consumers who thought its products were too processed by trimming its ingredient lists and focusing its marketing on the benefits of a plant-based diet.

Beyond Meat in El Segundo, California, on May 30, 2024.
Christina House | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Beyond Meat will introduce a whole-muscle steak alternative as part of its pivot to win over health-conscious consumers.
CEO Ethan Brown said on Wednesday that the rollout will likely include a partnership with a restaurant chain known for serving healthier food, a departure from its prior strategy of teaming up with fast-food chains such as Dunkin’ and McDonald’s.

More than six months ago, Beyond announced a turnaround strategy that included cutting costs, hiking prices and discontinuing the jerky product it made through a joint venture with PepsiCo. To revive slumping sales, the company’s marketing has focused on the health benefits of eating a plant-based diet through partnerships with organizations such as the American Cancer Society and influencer deals with college athletes. While health has always been a part of Beyond’s pitch to consumers, the company used to put more emphasis on climate change, too.
In recent months, Brown has blamed some of the plant-based meat industry’s woes on misinformation from the meat industry and cattle farmers, such as skepticism about plant-based meat’s processing.
Beyond already sells plant-based steak tips, but the new product mimics the texture of a filet with mycelium, the rootlike part of fungi. Brown envisions the steak alternative as a substitute for chicken, topping salads and stuffing burritos as a source of protein.
“The focus on this has been a very small number of ingredients, very high protein, very low saturated fat,” he said.
The company is also rolling out reformulated versions of its Beyond Burger and Beyond Chicken to grocery stores. The new products have short ingredients lists, in the hopes of winning over customers who previously thought plant-based meat was too processed.

Beyond declined to share any details on the timing of the launches for its latest steak or chicken options.

Losing diners and investors

Beyond’s market value once topped $14 billion, fueling broader investment into plant-based meat and a flood of competitors.
But these days, the company has a market cap under $400 million, reflecting investors’ concerns about the health of the business and the industry’s struggling sales. Its stock has lost a third of its value in 2024.
In the second quarter, Beyond reported net sales of $93.2 million, down 8.8% from the year-ago period and a 37% tumble from its second quarter in 2021.
After Beyond went public five years ago, its stock soared as more consumers bought its plant-based meat at grocery stores and fast-food restaurants such as Dunkin’. The Covid-19 pandemic further boosted sales as lockdowns encouraged more at-home cooking — but the lift did not last.
Buzzy partnerships with restaurant giants such as McDonald’s and Yum Brands did not lead to permanent menu items in the U.S., although Beyond has had more success with the chains’ European markets. Its joint venture with PepsiCo led to a single product, its now-discontinued jerky that weighed on its margins for several quarters.
At the same time, the broader category started struggling. Consumers lost interest in trying plant-based meat, often complaining about the taste or concerns about its processing.
Sales of plant-based foods, which includes milk, meat, egg and butter alternatives, rose just 1% to $8.1 billion last year, according to data from the Plant Based Foods Association. The milk alternatives segment accounts for roughly a quarter of the category’s total retail sales, followed by plant-based meat.
As consumers’ tastes shifted away, investors also lost interest.
Kellogg mulled spinning off or selling its plant-based business in a broader three-part split of the company, but ultimately opted to keep it part of Kellanova, its snacking spinoff that Mars is buying. Impossible Foods has been rumored to be considering an initial public offering since 2021, but the company’s CEO said earlier this year that it could sell or go public in the next three years, a much longer time horizon.
However, Beyond has no plans to sell itself, Brown told CNBC.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO More

Tune in to CNBC all day for coverage of the Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

The NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, No. 2 on CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations list, are worth $8 billion — more than $2 billion more than the Los Angeles Chargers.
The gap in value comes down to stadium economics.
Both teams play in SoFi Stadium, which Rams owner Stanley Kroenke financed to the tune of $5 billion.
Kroenke owns and operates SoFi Stadium.

Los Angeles Rams owner Stanley Kroenke speaks during the “Football Meets Football” Youth Clinic at the Rams NFL training camp on the Loyola Marymount University campus in Los Angeles on July 26, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images

There is a $2 billion gulf growing in Los Angeles.
The National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams, No. 2 on CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations list, are worth $8 billion, while the Los Angeles Chargers rank 26th at a value of $5.83 billion.

While the Rams have a recent Super Bowl to their name and the Chargers don’t, the gap in value is about much more than team performance. It comes down to stadium economics.
Both teams play in SoFi Stadium, which Rams owner Stanley Kroenke financed to the tune of more than $5 billion. Kroenke owns and operates the stadium. The Chargers, owned by the Spanos family, are just tenants.
The Rams get about 85% of the stadium’s revenue from luxury suites and sponsorships, as well as all the revenue from non-NFL events, according to a person familiar with the matter. That leaves about 15% of suite and sponsorship revenue for the Chargers — and no money from non-NFL events.
That means, for example, when pop star Taylor Swift sold out six nights at SoFi Stadium in August 2023 during her Eras Tour, the Chargers got no piece of the pie.
The mega tour was a boon for several NFL teams last year. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that a particular stop on the Eras Tour netted $4 million in revenue per show for the hosting stadium.

More coverage of the 2024 Official NFL Team Valuations

Stadium economics count a lot in the pecking order of NFL valuations because $13.68 billion, or 67%, of the league’s $20.47 billion in revenue was shared equally among the 32 teams in 2023. The vast majority of that $13.68 billion comes from national media rights plus sponsorship and licensing deals. But teams do not share revenue from stadium suites, hospitality and sponsorships — and that is where some franchises can pull away in value.
On top of the six Swift concerts, SoFi Stadium also hosted performances last year by Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Metallica and Pink. The Rams would keep 100% of that revenue.
The franchise also gets to keep the full $625 million of SoFi’s stadium naming rights, which last 20 years through the 2039 season.
It is a unique revenue share structure in the NFL. The only other franchises to share a stadium, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, split stadium revenue down the middle, according to CNBC sources, and are just about $500 million apart in overall franchise value, according to CNBC’s 2024 list. That is a significantly smaller margin than the LA teams.
Last year, the Rams were second in the NFL in sponsorship revenue, behind only the Dallas Cowboys, who are No. 1 in overall value on CNBC’s 2024 list and are fast approaching $250 million in sponsorship revenue, according to a person familiar with the team’s finances.
The Rams’ sponsorship revenue came in under $200 million last year, according to a person familiar with that team.
Of course, building your own stadium does not come without risk. SoFi Stadium cost more than $5 billion — the most of any stadium in the world — and the Rams have $3.5 billion of debt, by far the most in the NFL.
But the risk appears to have paid off.
When Kroenke bought the Rams for $750 million in 2010, the team was in St. Louis. He moved the franchise to Los Angeles for the 2016 season at a huge expense: Kroenke had to pay the league a relocation fee of $550 million and an additional $571 million settlement fee related to a lawsuit the city of St. Louis filed over the decision to bolt to California.
Still, including that combined $1.12 billion in fees, Kroenke’s investment in the Rams is up more than four-fold since he took control of the franchise. Since moving to Los Angeles, the Rams have made the playoffs five times and have been to the Super Bowl twice, capturing the Lombardi Trophy in 2021.
The Chargers, who moved to Los Angeles in 2017, have made it to the playoffs just twice since and have never advanced beyond the divisional round.
The Spanos family hasn’t done too badly, though. The late Alex Spanos purchased the then-San Diego Chargers in 1984 for $72 million. Similar to the Rams, the Chargers had to pay a $550 million relocation fee. Including the fee, the value of the team has increased 81-fold since August 1984. Over the same span, the S&P 500 is up 53-fold.
In stock market parlance, think of the Rams as a growth stock and the Chargers as a dividend play.

Join us on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles for CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan. This high-powered event brings together industry leaders, visionaries and influencers, along with executives and investors to explore the dynamic intersection of business, sports, music and entertainment. For more information and to request an invitation, click here. More

Tune in to CNBC all day for coverage of the Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

Thirty-five years after Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys, the team is worth a staggering $11 billion, $3 billion more than any other team in the NFL, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations unveiled Thursday.
On the path to profits, Jones made a series of bold moves that have set new standards for league ownership and delivered a massive return on his investment.
This year, the franchise could hit $250 million in sponsorship revenue, at least $50 million more than any other team, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.

DaRon Bland, #26 of the Dallas Cowboys, celebrates after an interception returned for a touchdown in the game against the Washington Commanders during the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 23, 2023.
Ron Jenkins | Getty Images

When Jerry Jones plunked down $150 million to buy the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, the team was losing $1 million a month, according to Jones.
Back then, there were plenty of empty seats and suites at Texas Stadium. The oilman had borrowed every nickel he could to buy the Cowboys, so he had to act fast — both on the field and off it — to make the team profitable.

And he did.
Thirty-five years later, the Cowboys are worth a staggering $11 billion, $3 billion more than any other team in the National Football League, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations unveiled Thursday.
The Cowboys generated $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023, nearly $400 million more than the Los Angeles Rams, who were second in the league in revenue, according to CNBC’s rankings. The Cowboys are the most profitable in the NFL, posting EBITDA of $550 million last season, $300 million more than the New England Patriots, the second-most profitable NFL team, according to CNBC’s list.

More coverage of the 2024 Official NFL Team Valuations

On the path to profits, Jones made a series of bold moves that have set new standards for league ownership and delivered a massive return on his investment.
When Jones took over in 1989, he immediately fired legendary coach Tom Landry and hired his former teammate from his Arkansas college football days, Jimmy Johnson. In 1989, Jones traded his best player, Herschel Walker, in a deal that landed the Cowboys four players and several draft picks that would yield players such as Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson.

By 1992, the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. The team won again in 1993 and then in 1995 with Barry Switzer as the coach.
Jones also innovated quickly off the field. He knew that while revenue from sponsorship deals with the NFL was split evenly among the teams, he could keep all stadium sponsorship money. Jones became the first NFL owner to get his own sponsorship deals at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys’ former home, in 1995.
He targeted brands such as American Express and Pepsi to be stadium sponsors — at the time, their respective rivals Visa and Coca-Cola had deals with the NFL. He also went after Nike, which did not have a deal with NFL Properties, the licensing arm of the league. In 1995, Jones signed a 10-year, $40 million deal with Pepsi-Cola and made a $2.5 million a year, 10-year deal with Nike.
Sponsorship agreements have been a huge boon to the Cowboys. This year, the franchise could hit $250 million in sponsorship revenue, at least $50 million more than any other team, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.
The value of the Cowboys’ sponsorship deals has ballooned over the years. The Cowboys moved into their new stadium in 2009. In 2013, the building was renamed AT&T Stadium when Jones inked a long-term deal worth about $20 million a year. By 2021, Jones had announced a 10-year, $200 million extension of a deal with Molson Coors.

The Dallas Cowboys defense celebrates in the end zone after cornerback DaRon Bland, #26, caught an interception during a game against the Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 30, 2023.
Ryan Kang | Getty Images

The city of Arlington owns AT&T Stadium, but Jones has operating rights, meaning he receives the revenue from the events. The busier it is, the more money he makes. Jones also has the right to purchase AT&T Stadium for just $10 at any point until the Cowboys’ lease expires in 2039, according to a person familiar with the team’s agreement with the city.
And although the Cowboys have not been to the Super Bowl in 29 years, they are a perennial playoff team, and seats and suites are almost always full.
Even outside football, the stadium is rarely vacant. This year, Jones will host Monster Jam; a professional boxing match with Mike Tyson; the Big 12 college football championship game; high school football; and Professional Bull Riders. Like with stadium sponsorships, Jones does not have to share any of this money with the league’s other 31 owners.
Jones, who is also the general manager of the Cowboys, gets plenty of criticism for not getting back to the Super Bowl since 1995. But there is no doubt he created the economic blueprint for an NFL team. The Cowboys, at $11 billion, are up 73-fold from the price Jones paid for the team to today, versus just an 18-fold increase in the S&P 500 during the same period.

Join us on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles for CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan. This high-powered event brings together industry leaders, visionaries and influencers, along with executives and investors to explore the dynamic intersection of business, sports, music and entertainment. For more information and to request an invitation, click here. More

Tune in to CNBC all day for coverage of the Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

News, insights and analysis on what professional sports teams are worth.

CNBC Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

Join us on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles for CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan. This high-powered event brings together industry leaders, visionaries and influencers, along with executives and investors to explore the dynamic intersection of business, sports, music and entertainment. For more information and to request an invitation, click here. More