National Football League (NFL) franchise the San Francisco 49ers are reportedly weighing up the sale of up to 10% of the team for a fee that would make it the most valuable franchise in the league.
The 49ers are reportedly seeking a fee that would value the overall franchise at $9 billion, the most ever for an NFL team, with private equity funds and wealthy individual or familial investors being considered.
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The number of NFL franchises selling off non-controlling minority stakes has skyrocketed in recent years since private equity was allowed entry into league ownership, as well as an uptick in franchise values.
The 32 NFL franchise owners voted to approve limited private equity investment at a special owners' meeting in August 2024.
The equity funds are limited to a maximum of 10% investment in any franchise. Other restrictions include only being able to invest in a maximum of six different teams, and no franchise being permitted to sell off more than 20% in total to private equity.
In December 2024, the Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins became the first NFL teams to confirm private equity investment, while the New York Giants recently tapped an investment bank to lead their private equity search.
The Washington Commanders was the last NFL team to be sold in its entirety, in mid-2023 to an ownership group led by billionaire Josh Harris, in a record-breaking deal valued at $6.05 billion.
However, the value of the 49ers, five-time Super Bowl champions with a long and recent history of success, one of the league’s newest stadiums in Levi’s Stadium, a large fanbase, and a strong sports market in the wider San Francisco Bay Area, makes the team an enticing prospect for investment, with Forbes in 2024 valuing the franchise at $6.8 billion, sixth among all NFL sides.
Investment in the Dolphins, which Forbes valued at $6.2 billion, valued the franchise at $8.1 billion, and the 49ers are likely to aim even higher.
The 49ers also own English soccer side Leeds United through its investment arm and are reportedly close to expanding into further soccer ownership.
Reports have surfaced that 49ers Enterprises president and Leeds United chair Paraag Marathe is spearheading a bid to invest in Scottish soccer giants Rangers FC.
Rules put in place in Scotland regarding team ownership mean that if you own one soccer side anywhere, the largest stake you can take in a Scottish team is 25%, and vice versa.
While this may limit the investment at first, rumors persist that those rules are set to be scaled back, with other Scottish sides such as Hibs, Hearts, and Dundee all attracting significant investment interest from the owners of English top-flight teams.
Rangers’ ownership is made up of several minority stakeholders, most prominent of which are Douglas Park, and the New Oasis Asset Limited holding company owned by Dave King.
Rumors of an outside takeover have persisted in recent years as current investors have piled more and more cash into the club (this week the team issued a further £18 million/$22.7 million in shares).
John Halsted, a US-based Rangers board member, is reportedly a driving force in the move to bring in the 49ers ownership.
The 49ers declined to comment when approached by Sportcal over the rumors.
Marathe, a 24-year veteran with the 49ers, also serves as the team’s executive vice president of football operations and is the team’s chief contract negotiator and the leader of its analytics department.
