Cover Football’s popularity makes it an appealing investment. (Photo: Getty Images)
Football’s popularity makes it an appealing investment. (Photo: Getty Images)
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From multibillion-dollar franchise buyouts to emerging leagues like the WNBA and SailGP, private equity and Asian family offices are treating top sports teams like scarce luxury assets
Sport has never been bigger business. “Investing in sport” has long meant one of very different two things: buying a team, for which you’d need to be extraordinarily rich and probably have a few personal connections to exploit; or passion investing, in racehorse syndicates, golf club memberships, yachts and so on, which of course could possibly turn a profit—but, let’s face it, probably won’t.
While such things are better seen as expensive hobbies, with benefits that are non-financial, whether they be love of a particular team or just the feeling of being closer to the action, there are other sporting investment options that are capable of actually generating returns. And, in recent years, both the number of those options and the size of those returns has been growing. So is the market as a whole. According to a May 2026 report from DBS, the world’s 50 most valuable sports teams were then worth US$353 billion—a figure that had more than doubled in just four years.
Above Football is a globally beloved sport and therefore offers a wide range of investment opportunities. (Photo: Getty Images)
Football is a globally beloved sport and therefore offers a wide range of investment opportunities. (Photo: Getty Images)
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“Historically, a lot of sports investment was by high-net-worth individuals, often as a passion project, something connected with the community,” says Mark Geday, partner at law firm Morgan Lewis, which provides advice to multiple sports investors. “That has changed over the years. A large part of that is North American influence—people seeing how you can monetise sport and make a lot of money from sports investment. You only have to look at some recent activity, like the sale of the LA Lakers.”
The basketball team was sold to venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger for US12.5 billion in August 2026, a year after previous owner Mark Walter had bought the team for US12.5 billion in August 2026, a year after previous owner Mark Walter had bought the team for US$10 billion. “There are multi-billion-dollar price tags for these assets.”
There are a number of reasons for this. Sport is capable of remaining buoyant even when the rest of the economy is struggling, driven as it is by a unique form of passion, which makes it an excellent source of diversification. It’s a unique asset—it would be impossible to replicate, say, the NFL or the English Premier League; and each club is also one of a kind. And it’s about as close to AI-proof as you’re ever likely to get these days—the structural advantage sport has always had over other forms of culture, its inherent unpredictability, is only going to become more valuable.
Above Tomorrow’s Golf League is part of a new wave of growth. (Photo: Getty Images)
Tomorrow’s Golf League is part of a new wave of growth. (Photo: Getty Images)
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Says Jason Lam, investment strategist, Chief Investment Office (North Asia) for DBS Hong Kong: “Most sports exist with limited supply. In US sports [where top leagues typically have a fixed line-up of teams], there’s a limited range of opportunities; in Europe [where sports like football offer promotion and relegation among leagues], there’s meritocratic scarcity. Limited supply concentrates broadcasting and sponsorship revenue among a few owners, so the cashflow is stable.
“There’s a diversification benefit—the overall correlation of sports investment with public markets is low and, in some cases, negative. Broadcasting rights are long-term in nature. It helps to navigate market uncertainty.”
Value can reside in different areas. With a lot of teams, it’s mainly about the resale value, but there are also opportunities in improving efficiency—a lot of European football teams, for example, are notoriously inefficiently run. As Lam says, there can also be chances to generate ongoing revenue—but even if not, that needn’t be a problem, according to Tony Simpson, partner and global sport lead for management consultancy Oliver Wyman.
“One of the reasons sport is really attractive as an asset is the valuation is going up all the time. If you own a football club, you might have to take a haircut [on day-to-day operations], but if you can hold for ten years and limit your losses, you can make money.”
There has been a growing professionalisation of sports investment offerings in recent years, with financial institutions taking it more and more seriously as an asset class. Private equity has been moving into the sector in force, as have sovereign wealth funds, particularly from the Middle East; while consortiums and syndicates open up otherwise inaccessible investments in assets like teams and leagues to a much wider range of people.
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Above Manchester City’s Hong Kong tour illustrates the soaring Asian fandom turning top football clubs into prized alternative assets
“How do you invest? It’s different now,” says Morgan Lewis’s Geday. “Historically, you had to be ultra high net worth, but people can now participate through private equity, and institutions through consortia. The way the regulations work is that there’s traditionally one owner—somebody who controls it.”
That means, barring regulatory changes within individual sports, that minority owners might therefore have to get used to the idea of having zero control over an asset they partly own. It’s one of the ways in which sporting investments can be a little less than frictionless, says Dr Yifei Zhang, senior lecturer in economics at The University of Hong Kong Business School.
“Financial institutions now treat sport more as a serious business area, and there is more careful analysis of revenue, fan loyalty, media value, governance and global branding. That said, sport still has a strong human and emotional element, so it will never be as clean or predictable as some other investments.”
Fortunately, the growth in ways of investing in sport has been accompanied by a growth in the number of areas of the sporting ecosystem in which you can invest. Beyond teams and leagues, they include media rights, venues, merchandising, agencies and athlete management, and technology, which could include data and analytics, ticketing and—where such things are acceptable to regulators—betting.
“The opportunity increasingly extends beyond the team itself,” says Jordan Solomon, partner at Arctos, a sports-focused private equity business from global investment firm KKR. “Leading owners are building broader sports, media, entertainment and real estate platforms around their franchises, investing in venues and surrounding districts, premium experiences, international growth and complementary businesses.”
As media consumption continues shifting toward digital platforms, says Nicole Pullen Ross, northeast region head of private wealth management and head of sports and entertainment solutions, Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, media rights, in particular, are becoming an ever more prized asset.
“Since 2022, major streaming platforms including Amazon, YouTube, Netflix and Apple have committed more than US$32 billion to marquee sports rights packages. With live sports remaining one of the last appointment-viewing products, competition among broadcasters and streamers for premium rights is likely to support continued growth in media rights valuations.
“For investors, established leagues like the NBA and NFL can offer risk-return profiles similar to public equities, characterised by consistent growth and lower risk, while emerging leagues can often resemble venture or growth equity investments, with higher potential returns accompanied by greater uncertainty.
“However, as major league franchise valuations continue to reach new heights, investors are increasingly looking for the next wave of growth. That’s driving interest in emerging properties like TGL [indoor competition Tomorrow’s Golf League], [professional sailing league] SailGP and the WNBA, where there may be the potential for more meaningful upside. Women’s sports remain particularly compelling because audience engagement and commercial interest are growing rapidly, while much of the supporting infrastructure is still being built.”
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Above Interest in investing is being driven by emerging events like SailGP. (Photo: Getty Images)
Interest in investing is being driven by emerging events like SailGP. (Photo: Getty Images)
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“How do you invest? It’s different now,” says Morgan Lewis’s Geday. “Historically, you had to be ultra high net worth, but people can now participate through private equity, and institutions through consortia. The way the regulations work is that there’s traditionally one owner—somebody who controls it.”
That means, barring regulatory changes within individual sports, that minority owners might therefore have to get used to the idea of having zero control over an asset they partly own. It’s one of the ways in which sporting investments can be a little less than frictionless, says Dr Yifei Zhang, senior lecturer in economics at The University of Hong Kong Business School.
“Financial institutions now treat sport more as a serious business area, and there is more careful analysis of revenue, fan loyalty, media value, governance and global branding. That said, sport still has a strong human and emotional element, so it will never be as clean or predictable as some other investments.”
Fortunately, the growth in ways of investing in sport has been accompanied by a growth in the number of areas of the sporting ecosystem in which you can invest. Beyond teams and leagues, they include media rights, venues, merchandising, agencies and athlete management, and technology, which could include data and analytics, ticketing and—where such things are acceptable to regulators—betting.
“The opportunity increasingly extends beyond the team itself,” says Jordan Solomon, partner at Arctos, a sports-focused private equity business from global investment firm KKR. “Leading owners are building broader sports, media, entertainment and real estate platforms around their franchises, investing in venues and surrounding districts, premium experiences, international growth and complementary businesses.”
Above Women’s sport is one of the most compelling growth areas. (Photo: Getty Images)
Women’s sport is one of the most compelling growth areas. (Photo: Getty Images)
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Sumeet Bhambri, global head, advisory and managed investments, Wealth Solutions, Standard Chartered, which launched a sport-focused fund through its Global Private Bank in 2025, agrees that the potential upside in women’s sport is mighty.
“Women’s sport is one of the most compelling growth stories in global entertainment today. Audience numbers, sponsorship revenues and media coverage continue to rise from relatively low bases, creating opportunities of investing in a sector during its early commercial development.”
Other areas with powerful potential for growth, says HKU’s Zhang, could include youth sport, Asian regional competitions, health and fitness linked to sport, and technology that helps fans feel closer to athletes and teams.
People from Asia have traditionally been relatively underrepresented among sports investors, especially when it comes to the major leagues in western nations. There have always been exceptions, but many people have been hampered by distance, regulatory constraints and their relative lack of a local network and therefore of access to deals. This is changing, with more and more Asian investors seeking ways to get into sports both established and emerging. Many are driven by a love of sport, but many others are just looking beyond traditional asset classes for new opportunities. In the case of sovereign wealth funds, there are also potential benefits ranging from tourism to branding and soft power.
Above Formula One has a huge fandom. (Photo: Getty Images)
Formula One has a huge fandom. (Photo: Getty Images)
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“In our view, parts of Asia today resemble where North America sports markets were several years ago, with tremendous underlying fan affinity, growing commercial sophistication and a strong long-term potential to become one of the most important growth markets for sports as an investable asset class,” says Arctos’s Solomon.
“Across our existing investments, particularly the NBA, MLB, European football and Formula One, we already see incredible fandom and affinity from Asian markets. That level of engagement reflects Asia-Pacific’s growing importance as both a commercial market for global sports and an increasingly relevant source of investment capital.”
Those Asian investors are joining a growing global group who have cottoned onto the fact that, above all, sport is loved. It inspires a level of passion among a highly diverse group of people that it’s almost impossible for any other form of business to match. That level of engagement can be monetised in any number of ways—and, with more and more serious investors flooding into the sporting landscape, levels of professionalism within the industry are only likely to improve.
As Standard Chartered’s Bhambri puts it: “Fan loyalty is one of the most durable assets in the world. The world’s best sports franchises increasingly resemble luxury brands: scarce, globally recognised and difficult to replicate.”
Richard Lord is a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist, writer and editor, and a regular contributor to Tatler. He has been an editor at the Wall Street Journal, editorial director of Haymarket Publishing Asia and the editor of a weekly business magazine in his native UK. He is also the author of a business book. He covers most subjects, with a particular focus on the arts, culture and sport.
