Apollo Sports Capital is setting its sights on the NFL as the investment firm continues to expand its growing portfolio across some of the biggest properties in professional sports.
After investments involving the New York Yankees, Wrexham AFC and Atlético de Madrid, Apollo Sports Capital chief strategy officer Sam Porter said the firm is taking a serious look at opportunities to enter the NFL.
Apollo is not currently among the private-equity firms approved to invest in NFL franchises, but Porter indicated that the size of the league and its growth potential make it difficult for the company to ignore.
Does Apollo Sports Capital Want to Invest in the NFL?
Yes. Apollo Sports Capital is exploring potential opportunities to invest in the NFL.
Porter said at the Front Office Sports Asset Class event in New York that the NFL’s enormous audience, connection with American consumers and ambitions for international expansion make the league particularly attractive.
The NFL also generates enormous amounts of revenue compared with other professional sports leagues.
Apollo is still in the early stages of determining what an NFL investment could look like.
One possibility could involve partnering directly with an NFL franchise if Apollo is able to find an investment structure permitted under league rules.
Is Apollo Sports Capital an Approved NFL Private Equity Investor?
Apollo Sports Capital is not currently one of the NFL’s approved private-equity investment partners.
The NFL opened the door to institutional private-equity investment in team ownership in 2024, creating a new source of capital for franchise owners while maintaining restrictions over how those investments can be structured.
Apollo would therefore need an appropriate path into the league before it could make an NFL team investment.
Porter’s comments nevertheless make clear that the NFL has become a major target as Apollo expands deeper into sports.
Why Does Apollo Want to Invest in the NFL?
The biggest attraction is the extraordinary scale of the NFL.
The league combines a massive domestic television audience with valuable franchises, enormous media-rights agreements and an increasingly aggressive international strategy.
The NFL has also expanded its international footprint through regular-season games outside the United States.
For an investment firm seeking exposure to premium sports properties, those characteristics make NFL franchises particularly attractive assets.
Porter said Apollo would be remiss not to examine potential opportunities given the league’s size and financial numbers.
Private Equity Is Growing in the NFL
Private-equity investment in NFL franchises is still relatively new.
The league approved institutional investment in 2024, allowing selected private-equity groups to acquire minority positions under specific ownership rules.
The early impact has been relatively limited compared with the enormous valuations of NFL franchises, but investment activity continues.
Arctos Partners, for example, recently invested in the Atlanta Falcons, giving the firm interests in four NFL franchises.
Apollo could eventually become another major institutional investor seeking exposure to the league.
Apollo’s $2.6 Billion New York Yankees Deal
Apollo’s interest in the NFL follows a major investment involving one of the most recognizable franchises in American sports.
Apollo Sports Capital completed a $2.6 billion investment deal with the New York Yankees.
The transaction includes a combination of credit and equity.
Part of the new capital is expected to be used to restructure and reduce debt while providing the Yankees with additional financial flexibility.
Importantly, the deal does not remove control of the Yankees from the Steinbrenner family.
The family remains in control of the MLB franchise.
What Does the Apollo Investment Mean for the Yankees?
The Apollo deal provides the Yankees with additional capital that can potentially be deployed across different parts of the organization.
Porter described the transaction as a broad capital solution designed to give the franchise multiple financial options.
The Yankees can use that flexibility to address debt while also investing in opportunities intended to grow the club and its broader business.
Peter Freund, a Yankees limited partner and CEO of Diamond Baseball Holdings, said the transaction provides an opportunity to free up capital that can be reinvested in the Yankees.
Apollo Sports Capital’s Growing Sports Portfolio
Apollo’s sports ambitions extend well beyond baseball and potentially the NFL.
The investment firm has established connections with several major sports properties, including:
- New York Yankees — MLB
- Wrexham AFC — Welsh soccer
- Atlético de Madrid — LaLiga
- Potential future investment opportunities in the NFL
That collection gives Apollo exposure to both the enormous U.S. sports market and global soccer.
An eventual NFL investment would significantly expand that strategy.
Why NFL Teams Are Attractive to Private Equity
NFL franchises have become some of the most valuable sports properties in the world.
The league benefits from enormous national television contracts, strong attendance, sponsorship revenue and a media model that distributes substantial revenue among its teams.
International expansion could provide another source of long-term growth.
The NFL has increasingly taken regular-season games to international markets as it attempts to grow its audience beyond the United States.
For investment firms such as Apollo, buying minority positions can provide exposure to the growth of NFL franchise valuations without acquiring operational control of a team.
Could Apollo Buy an NFL Team?
Apollo’s comments should not be interpreted as an indication that the firm plans to purchase controlling ownership of an NFL franchise.
Instead, the more realistic opportunity under the NFL’s current private-equity framework would involve a minority investment or partnership structured according to league ownership rules.
Porter specifically indicated Apollo is examining different ways it could potentially enter the NFL.
No specific NFL franchise has been identified as an Apollo investment target.
What’s Next for Apollo Sports Capital?
Apollo Sports Capital is still in the early stages of examining its NFL strategy, meaning there is currently no announced NFL investment deal.
However, the firm’s recent sports activity demonstrates its willingness to deploy significant capital into major franchises and clubs.
The $2.6 billion Yankees transaction, combined with investments involving Wrexham AFC and Atlético de Madrid, has already established Apollo as an increasingly prominent institutional investor in sports.
The NFL could represent its biggest opportunity yet.
With enormous revenues, rapidly rising franchise values, a massive American audience and growing international ambitions, the league appears to fit Apollo Sports Capital’s strategy of investing in premium sports properties.
For now, Apollo must determine exactly how it can gain entry into the NFL’s tightly controlled ownership structure.
But based on Porter’s comments, the firm is taking that possibility seriously.