If you love sports, you have no doubt dreamt about being the owner of a professional sports franchise. Perhaps, your desire is directed at one of your favorite teams. If not, it’s quite acceptable to want to simply be involved in owning a team for the prestige that comes with doing so.
The Current Value of a Top Sports Franchise
Of course, you may have resolved yourself to the notion it is nearly impossible for you to participate in any level of ownership due in large part to the logistics involved, namely money. According to a 2016 study conducted by Forbes, you would only need $4.2 billion to own the Dallas Cowboys. If you are just a little short of that amount, you might be able to scrape together enough to buy the New England Patriots for $3.4 billion. Granted, these numbers are unattainable by 99.99% of the people in the world, even through partnerships.
The Best Alternative
Assuming one doesn’t have enough money sitting around or enough powerful friends to buy the New York Yankees for $2.5 billion, let’s consider the next best alternative.
Throughout the world, there are a number of sports franchises that are owned in part or as a whole by corporate conglomerates that are traded publicly on reputable stock exchange. By purchasing stock is one of the corporations, it can easily be shown that the individual is a part owner in a professional sports team. With that said, it’s important for the individual to verify their investment includes the sports team.
A great example would be the Green Bay Packers. While the team lays claim to being owned publicly by cheesehead fans, the reality is the investment the fans make and the stock certificate they receive does not really provide an equity interest in the team. It’s more for show and the development of city unity as opposed to proving fans with an investment that will create financial rewards at some point into the future.
Sports Franchises That are Publicly Owned
According to the information provided by Wikipedia, there are a number of professional European football franchises that are owned publicly either through stock purchases or some type of direct investment. While pretty much all of the teams in this category are recognized as minor league teams, the Mighty Manchester United team opened up on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MANU just a few short years ago. A minority interest in now owned by soccer fans and investors alike.
The two most prominent publicly held professional sports franchises in the U.S. are Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Atlanta Braves and the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) New York Knicks. The Braves are part of the corporate conglomerate called Liberty Media, which trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol LMCA. Aside from the Braves and five supporting minor league franchises, this group is heavily involved in satellite radio, concert promotions, and content creation. It’s worth noting this group was once operated under the name Turner Broadcasting System or TBS.
The Knicks are very much a high profile organization. The team operates as a division of Madison Square Garden, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MSG. Not only does this group own the Knicks, but it also owns the namesake stadium where the National Hockey League’s (NHL) New York Rangers Women’s National Basketball Association’s New York Liberty play. Stock ownership in this group comes with some interesting perks much like getting top reviews by sportsbook review.
The opportunities to own a professional sports team are anything but plentiful. However, the above examples show that anything is possible. In the future, there may be other sports franchises that get absorbed by other corporate organizations. This will create additional opportunities for the little guys to be a big part of the sports world in a very small way.
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