The sports capital floodgates are OPEN.
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a surge of announcements that would’ve felt unthinkable just a few years ago.
Here’s what’s hit the wire:
- Mark Cuban unveiled a $750 million sports fund.
- Dave Checketts, former MSG Sports CEO, announced a $1.2 billion fund for sports-related investments (podcast here)
- Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz, launched a $1 billion fund targeting sports and entertainment.
- TPG (a $250B+ private equity giant) launched a dedicated sports investment vehicle alongside Rory McIlroy.
Billions of dollars. Blue-chip names.
But two main questions:
- Is this new capital actually innovating sports?
- Or is it just the same recycled strategy in a shinier wrapper?
The real opportunity?
…it’s hiding where no one’s looking (and it’s not passive capital in legacy teams)
Let’s break it down ????
The Playbook
All of these new funds will mainly look like this:
✅ Buying 5–10% minority stakes in legacy franchises
✅ At all-time high valuations
✅ With no operational control
✅ And minimal incentive to drive change
Sports isn’t being reinvented with this model…
It’s being financialized.
Financialization means treating sports assets like any other financial instrument:
- Buying into a franchise = like buying real estate (returns come from appreciation, not operational alpha)
- The thesis is about scarcity, brand durability, and non-correlation to the public market (not about changing how sports are played, watched, or monetized)
While headlines scream about billions entering sports…
Most of that capital is flowing into static, low-agency positions.
They might return 2–3x over 10–20 years, but they won’t help innovate sports.
The Real Innovation
While capital floods into legacy leagues, the action is happening elsewhere:
- New leagues are being built from scratch: nimble, media-savvy, and culturally native.
- Fan engagement tools are unlocking new revenue streams through interactivity, gamification, and personalization.
- AI, data, and wearables are reshaping performance, recovery, and coaching.
- Global sports and niche verticals are scaling fast with younger, digital-first audiences.
- Athletes and creators are launching brands, IPs, and shows that rival traditional rights holders.
These aren’t $1B+ headline deals.
They’re $1M–$50M bets that could change the game completely.
*note: one positive that could happen is if the billionaire families that liquidate part of their teams take some of that capital and allocate it to different areas across sports
The Real Alpha
In investing, “alpha” is excess return — how much you outperform the market relative to your risk.
And in sports?
The best alpha-generating investment of all time might just be this:
In 2001, the Fertitta brothers bought the UFC for $2 million. In 2016, they sold it for $4.025 billion.
Here’s what that looks like:
- Profit: $4.023 billion
- ROI: 201,150%
- CAGR: 89.9%
- MOIC: 2012.5x
And it proves the point:
Real alpha in sports doesn’t come from buying into what already works.
It comes from building the next thing.
The UFC was considered niche, risky, and even barbaric.
Now? It’s a global entertainment empire.
Every emerging league today is chasing that same outcome (and I think we’ll see a handful of big winners).
Looking Ahead
The flood of capital into sports is real (and long overdue).
But most of it is flowing upstream into low-risk, low-leverage opportunities.
That leaves a massive gap downstream:
- Where venture capital meets sports
- Where sports IP is still affordable
- Where technology meets monetization
This is where the next generation of value will be created.
We’re entering a new era in sports — one where capital isn’t the bottleneck, but conviction is.
Owning a slice of a pro team is nice.
Owning the next wave of sports IP, tech, and distribution?
That’s where empires will be built.
For founders…
These seemingly great announcements of billions of capital entering sports won’t help you directly — but it could swing some of it downstream over time.
This is why I fully believe there’s never been a better time to build in sports.
Keep going!
