As with every year, business was booming for the world’s most popular and prosperous sports league. There are so many items to choose from, but here is my list of the NFL’s top 10 business of football stories of 2024. The NFL was the last of the major sports leagues to allow private equity investment into its teams.
Always wanting to hold fast to their model of individual ownership, league officials were slow to let go of that framework, until Josh Harris, owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, had a difficult time mustering up investors to help fund a $6 billion purchase of the Washington Commanders. The realization was clear: Institutional money was needed. As always, the NFL did it its own way. While other leagues allow up to 30% investment from private equity, the NFL set a 10% limit with a handful of pre-approved funds. Baby steps. Two teams, the Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, have taken advantage of the new rules, both selling the maximum allowable 10% to investment firms Arctos and Ares, respectively, liquidating hundreds of millions. There will still be individual owners representing NFL teams, but the funding behind them may look quite different going forward.NFL ownership finally approved the transfer of a 5% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders to Brady after initially disapproving of what was an overly discounted valuation. While Brady is now an official of the struggling team, he has a $37.5 million side gig broadcasting games every week for FOX. That job has been compromised due to guardrails placed on him by fellow owners. Brady cannot attend production meetings with players and coaches nor visit team facilities in preparation for the broadcasts. As I have said, it all seems kind of silly to me. Of course, Brady is briefed on those production meetings by his FOX colleagues, and of course, he talks to coaches, players and general managers about their team