When it comes to investing in sports, there are minimal options of publicly traded teams. Investors have even fewer options to get exposure to the growth of sports leagues. A new investment in a major sports league presents an opportunity for investors to participate alongside and capture future growth.
What Happened: Media company Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) is known for some of its media rights among sports leagues, which include MLB games, NFL games, NCAA Football games, NASCAR races, and more.
The league also added the IndyCar media rights in 2025 and is now doubling down on the motorsports league with an investment to acquire one third interest in Penske Entertainment, owner of IndyCar and the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
As part of the partnership, Fox will extend its media rights for the racing league for multiple years.
A price for the acquisition was not publicly disclosed, with sources telling The Wall Street Journal that the stake was valued at $125 million to $135 million.
"This partnership is built on long-standing trust and a shared vision for the future," Penske Corporation Chairman Roger Penske said. "FOX sees the incredible potential across our sport and wants to play an active role in building our growth trajectory."
Penske said Fox is committed to the success and future of the league. Fox is expected to help with IndyCar events, provide more sponsorship opportunities for the league and boost attendance at racing tracks.
"INDYCAR represents everything we value in live sports – passionate fans, iconic venues, elite competition and year-round storytelling potential," FOX Sports CEO Eric Shanks said. "This investment underscores our commitment to motorsports and our belief in INDYCAR's continued growth on and off the track. We're excited to help elevate the sport to new heights across all platforms."
IndyCar reports that races this season are averaging 31% more viewers each race, year-over-year, with Fox Sports. This includes the Indianapolis 500, which had an average of 7.01 million viewers earlier this year, up 41% year-over-year and hitting a 17-year high.
Read Also: Amazon Grabs More Live Sports Rights With NASCAR Deal: Why It’s Important
Why It's Important: Racing fans used to be able to invest in the success of IndyCar and NASCAR with the publicly traded Speedway Motorsports, which owns many of the tracks used across both racing leagues. The company was taken private in 2019.
Racing fans can invest in Formula 1, which is owned by Liberty Formula One (NASDAQ:FWONA)(NASDAQ:FWONK).
Sports fans can also invest in some publicly traded stocks that own individual teams.
With the Fox stake in IndyCar, investors in Fox now get exposure to the company's media assets and its growing sports portfolio, which includes media rights for several leagues and the key rights for IndyCar.
The company will also own a stake in the entire IndyCar league and the key Indianapolis Motor Speedway, offering up new opportunities for sports growth.
FOX Price Action: Fox stock is down 1.2% to $50.66 on Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $33.72 to $55.00. Fox stock is up 9.3% year-to-date in 2025.
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