Media Trends Executive

Media Deals

Media Trends

Axios Media Trends

Stacked bar chart showing annual sports sector deals by buyer type from 2019 to 2025. Total deals nearly tripled from 163 to 485, driven by growth in strategic acquisitions (109 to 293) and private equity deals (54 to 192).

Sports sector deals by buyer type

Data: Mergermarket, Oaklins research; Note: Private equity buyers only include platform acquisitions, excluding add-on acquisitions; Chart: Christine Wang/Axios

The number of sports deals has tripled since 2019 as more private equity firms, billionaires and strategic buyers pour money into the industry.

Why it matters: Sports offers an endless supply of premium content but with a finite number of franchises.

"Sports is the ultimate IP," says Scott Purdy, media sector leader, strategy for KPMG U.S.. "How many sequels can you have? It's unlimited."

By the numbers: Global sports M&A reached 485 transactions in 2025, up from 163 in 2019, per Oaklins research citing Mergermarket. 

Average sports franchise valuations grew at a 14% annualized rate from 2020 to 2025, according to a recent Goldman Sachs report.

Private equity dealmaking in sports nearly quadrupled between 2018 and 2025, rising from 50 to 192 transactions annually, per Deloitte, largely because leagues relaxed ownership rules.

The big picture: The number of professional sports franchises is limited, but the pool of wealthy and institutional investors competing for them continues to expand as new billionaires emerge and leagues open up access.

"You've got billionaires that are popping up left, right, and center ... and you've got a fixed number of 'toys,'" says Carlos Jimenez, global head of media, sports and entertainment at Moelis, referring to sports teams.

Between the lines: Sports ownership offers wealthy investors portfolio diversification and a prestige asset whose valuation is not tied to the performance of the financial markets.

"For an NFL owner to sell a small, immaterial, non-governance piece for close to a billion dollars. Yeah, pretty good liquidity capture," says Drew Marcus, senior adviser at Guggenheim Securities.

Reality check: While the speed of appreciation might slow down for some top-tier teams, "I don't see it as a bubble that is bursting," says Alex Michael, senior managing director and global head of sports and entertainment at investment firm and merchant bank LionTree.

Follow the money: Sports franchises are generating more revenue from media rights, ticketing, sponsorships and merchandise.

Nicole Pullen Ross, Goldman Sachs' Northeast private wealth management region head and leader of its sports and entertainment solutions offering, says growing media rights revenue is the biggest driver of rising franchise valuations.

Zoom in: Teams, especially emerging women's franchises, are valued beyond what their cash flow justifies as investors bet on scarcity and long-term appreciation.

"You can't use just a traditional DCF, like discounted cash flow. The math will never make sense," says Bart Spiegel, PwC's global entertainment and media deals leader.

"The passion component of the formula is still there, but it's a much smaller percentage in the formula than some of the more measurable attributes that investors are looking at," Pullen Ross says.

Zoom out: Investors are increasingly eyeing ancillary revenues, such as real estate and sports production and tech, to optimize revenue off-season and boost team values.

The Atlanta Braves have built a successful model for monetizing sports real estate by developing hospitality businesses within The Battery Atlanta alongside Truist Park.

Providence Equity Partners' purchase of Casey Wasserman's stake in The Team and its investment in sports architecture firm Populous both underscore the appeal of sports-adjacent companies.

What to watch: Youth and amateur sports are becoming more attractive to investors because of the opportunities to tap into recurring family budgets and to consolidate facilities, tech, tournament operators and leagues across the country. 

Global private equity and venture capital investment in amateur sports has exploded, per data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, reaching $2.11 billion in the first five months of 2026 compared to $550 million for all of 2025. 

The bottom line: This year, TPG's roughly $2 billion acquisition of Learfield, a college sports media and tech company, showed how much private equity is betting on sports infrastructure as team ownership becomes saturated.

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Sports dealmaking triples as investors chase scarce assets

Sports offers an endless supply of premium content but with a finite number of franchises.

Dealmaking

Media & journalism industry

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Sports dealmaking triples as investors chase scarce assets

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