The New England Patriots have entered into minority stake sales that place the franchise’s valuation at more than $9 billion. Two separate buyers were involved in the transaction: private equity firm Sixth Street acquired a 3% interest, while Greek-American billionaire Dean Metropoulos purchased a 5% share.
The sales, which collectively represent an 8% stake in the team, were initially reported by Sports Business Journal and later confirmed by the Patriots, though financial specifics were not disclosed in the team’s statement. Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the transactions valued the Patriots at well over $9 billion. According to one source, proceeds from the sales were expected to be reinvested back into the organization by owner Robert Kraft.
The team stated that the Kraft family remained fully committed to long-term ownership and operational control of the Patriots. The agreements were still pending league approval, which the Patriots indicated could come as soon as next month.
The deal with Sixth Street marked the fourth private equity investment in an NFL franchise since owners voted last summer to allow minority PE ownership stakes. At the time, the policy was approved by a 31–1 vote, with the Cincinnati Bengals being the only dissenting party. Sixth Street’s 3% acquisition was the smallest private equity purchase among the four completed deals so far. Earlier transactions included Arctos Partners acquiring 10% stakes in both the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers, while Ares Management bought a 10% interest in the Miami Dolphins.
NFL rules capped private equity stakes at 10%, and while multiple firms could invest in the same franchise, their combined holdings could not exceed that threshold. The Patriots’ transaction underscored how the league’s new policy had quickly become influential. A league representative at the time described the PE ownership framework as a “tremendous success.”
Metropoulos, the founder of Metropoulos & Company, had an extensive history of consumer brand investments, including Hostess Brands and Pabst Brewing Company. For Sixth Street, the Patriots added to an already significant sports investment portfolio. The firm also owned stakes in the NBA’s Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs, Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants, and European soccer giants Real Madrid and Barcelona. Additionally, Sixth Street was the majority owner of the NWSL’s Bay FC.
With the deal, the Boston Bruins became the lone major professional sports franchise in the city — across the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL — without private equity backing. Sixth Street was already tied to both the Patriots and Celtics, while the Red Sox counted RedBird Capital Partners as a minority investor.
The transactions came amid a surge of minority stake sales in the NFL, with valuations soaring to record levels. Under current league rules, teams could have up to 24 limited partners. Recent months had seen a flurry of deals, including the San Francisco 49ers selling a 3.2% stake to Fortress Investment Group’s Pete Briger Jr., and another 6% stake in May to a trio of families, valuing the team at over $8.5 billion. Earlier this month, the New York Giants sold a 10% interest to Julia Koch and members of her family, at a valuation above $10 billion.
Other recent examples included the Chicago Bears reaching an equity deal that valued the franchise at $8.8 billion, and the sale of smaller ownership slices of the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins that were approved in May. In December, the NFL signed off on the sale of an 8% stake in the Philadelphia Eagles to two investment groups. High-profile individuals also entered the ownership ranks, including Tom Brady, who acquired a roughly 5% share in the Las Vegas Raiders last October.
Source: Front Office Sports
