NFL owners have officially approved another way for them to receive money.
The league’s owners voted in favor of a rule change allowing private equity firms to buy a stake of up to 10% of a team, per Sportico, unlocking billions of committed and potential investment dollars. The NFL is a late arrival for the change, as the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and NWSL had all already made the jump.
31 of 32 owners reportedly voted in favor of the change, with the holdout being Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The specifics of the arrangement include a minimum stake of 3% for the private equity firm, funds being allowed to invest in a maximum of six teams each and a minimum holding period of six years. All funds must have $2 billion in overall capital to buy in.
The league is making this change amid the continued skyrocketing of franchise values, which has made it harder for owners to cash in on franchises that are all now worth billions of dollars. Previous rules required an ownership group to have no more than 25 people, but principal owners will now have increased flexibility in finding minority partners looking to inject them in cash in exchange for a cut of the profits.
And it looks like NFL teams won’t wait long to do so. According to CNBC, a smattering of firms including Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners and Arctos Partners have committed to raising $12 billion in capital to invest in NFL teams.