NFL team the New York Giants could be the latest team to take a minority stake in the company with a new report showing a top billionaire linked to investing in the team.
What Happened: Ahead of the 2025 NFL season, a new report links the Giants to selling a stake in the team to billionaire Julia Koch and her family, which follows the team putting a 10% stake on the sales block in February.
Bloomberg reports that Koch, who is worth $78.9 billion, will acquire the minority stake in the team. Koch is ranked as the 20th richest person in the world and third richest woman. Koch is the widow of Koch Industries co-owner David Koch.
The Giants are valued at $10.1 billion by Forbes and $10.25 billion by Sportico, ranking as the third most valuable team in each report.
A minority stake deal remains subject to final agreements between the team and would require NFL approval later this year.
If the Giants are valued at around $10 billion, it would mark one of the largest valuations of a sports team with a funding round or sale. The Los Angeles Lakers were valued at $10 billion in June when the team sold a majority stake.
The Giants joined the NFL in 1925 and have been owned by the Mara family since. The Tisch family bought half the team in 1991 to be co-owners of the storied franchise.
Koch, who has gained $5.9 billion in wealth this year, bought a 15% stake in BSE Global with her children in 2024. BSE Global is the parent company of the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, WNBA's New York Liberty and owner of the Barclays Center. The deal valued the company at $6 billion.
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Why It's Important: Valuations of professional sports teams continue to soar thanks to media rights deals and growing monetization opportunities.
The NFL became the latest league to approve private equity investments and change minority stake rules, opening up opportunities for teams to cash in on growing valuations and secure new funding for future growth.
Publicly traded Ares Management Corp (NYSE:ARES) took a stake in the NFL's Miami Dolphins as part of the new private equity rules.
The New York Giants are one of the oldest NFL teams and have won four Super Bowls in the modern era, winning championships for the 1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011 seasons.
The team has struggled in recent years, making the playoffs only two times since the 2011 Super Bowl-winning season. The Giants have had only two winning records in the past 12 seasons.
Sportsbooks show long odds for the Giants to perform well on the field in the 2025 season with odds to make the playoffs the second worst at +500 and odds to win the Super Bowl at +15,000, among the worst.
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