The Athlete & Celebrity Sports Ownership Gold Rush

Everyone in Sports Wants to Be an Owner

From Hollywood elites to Hall of Fame legends, sports team ownership has become the smartest, most lucrative status play in business.

Behind the headlines, a structural shift is underway: sports franchises aren’t just passion projects — they’re now scarce, high-performing assets outpacing the stock market and even prime real estate.

1. Teams as the New Blue-Chip Asset Class

Franchise values have been on a multi-decade tear, beating most traditional investments.
The best way to measure that growth? CAGR — Compound Annual Growth Rate.

What’s CAGR?
It’s the yearly growth rate needed to get from a starting value to an ending value, assuming the value grew at a steady pace each year.

Example: If an MLS team was worth $100M in 2013 and $678M in 2024.

That’s an 18.6% annual compounded return — and it’s been sustained for over a decade.

Average Annual Appreciation (20-Year CAGR):

• NFL: +12.5%

• NBA: +13.9%

• MLB: +8.6%

• MLS: +15–20%

• NWSL: +30%+ for recent expansion teams

Over the past 25 years, major league team valuations have beaten the S&P 500 by 3–5% annually with far less volatility.

Example: The Houston Texans — bought for $700M in 2002, now worth $5.5B — a 685% gain (~10.5% CAGR).

2. Soccer: The Celebrity Entry Point

Why is every A-lister buying into soccer?

• Lower entry price vs. NFL/NBA/MLB (historically).

• Global brand scalability.

• U.S. leagues in hyper-growth mode.

MLS Valuation Surge:

• 2013 Avg: $103M

• 2024 Avg: $678M

• CAGR: ~18.6%

NWSL Explosion:

• 2020 expansion fee: $2–5M

• 2024: $53M (Bay FC record) → 900%+ growth in 4 years (~83% CAGR)

Case Studies:

• Beckham’s Inter Miami: $25M entry → $1.03B value.

• Natalie Portman’s Angel City FC: $5–10M → $180M+.

• Reynolds & McElhenney’s Wrexham: $2.5M → ~$10M, plus millions in media value.

3. NFL–ESPN: The New Power Play

NFL to acquire 10% of ESPN in exchange for:

• NFL Network

• NFL Fantasy Football

• RedZone brand

Valuation math: ESPN ≈ $24B → 10% stake = ~$2.4B.
Strategic signal: Leagues are shifting from content supplier to media equity owner — capturing streaming-era upside directly.

4. Star Power ROI

Celebrity owners bring multiplier effects:

• Messi to Inter Miami → +4,500% jersey sales in 48 hours.

• Wrexham followers: 7K → 2.5M after Reynolds/McElhenney.

• Sponsorships: Celebrity-led clubs command 15–30% higher partner premiums.

5. Barriers Are Rising

• Private equity (Arctos, RedBird) pushing valuations sky-high.

• NFL/NBA buy-in: $1–2B+ net worth required even for minority stakes.

• Soccer remains the entry ramp — but climbing fast.

6. ROI Reality

• Cash flow: Often break-even or loss.

• Real wealth: Asset appreciation + rising media rights.

Media Rights CAGR (Last 10 Years):

• NFL: +7.8%

• NBA: +8.4%

• MLS: +14.2%

Blunt Forecast

• MLS & NWSL could double again by 2030.

• Expect more cross-league media ownership plays.

• Watch for fractionalized ownership opening the market to retail investors.

Bottom Line: Sports franchises are the rarest of rare assets — globally marketable, culturally untouchable, and appreciating faster than nearly any other asset class. The celebrity rush is a signpost, not a sideshow: the next phase will be about owning both the product and the platform.

Watch U.S. soccer — MLS and NWSL — and the NFL’s ESPN playbook. The window for the ground floor is closing.

Men lie. Women lie. The numbers never do.