The Los Angeles Lakers, the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, a chunk of the New York Yankees. Teams are turning over at a rapid pace, driving valuations to stratospheric heights. One reason for the sales boom you might expect: There are an ever-increasing number of billionaires with the resources to buy teams. More demand, plus a limited supply of teams, equals higher prices. But experts also offered a surprising reason: artificial intelligence. Sports is believed to be a relatively AI-proof investment. Teams are not likely to be upended by the game-changing technology the way other investments might be. “I’m willing to bet odds are greater that in 100 years that the Yankees will be here compared to IBM being here,” said Sal Galatioto, a leading investment banker in the field of selling sports teams. Galatioto has been negotiating deals to buy teams, or a stake in teams, for 30 years. He said he’s never been busier. “People have never bought teams for cash returns,” he said. “You bought it for long-term appreciation, and ego gratification and scarcity value. You bought it like fine art. Now it’s a hedge against technology disruption.” There are a number of other businesses that may be AI-proof or even benefit from its growth, such as electric utilities, said Victor Matheson, an economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross and an expert in sports business. But he says sports teams are much “sexier.” “No one has ever dreamed of being CEO of (electric company) National Grid,” Matheson said. “But everyone dreamed of being the owner or manager of the Yankees” The gold rush is tangible Just this month, former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner agreed to buy a controlling interest in the Lakers, in a deal valuing the team at a record US$12.5 billion. Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, reportedly sold 40 per cent of Premier League club Liverpool to a consortium that includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. And last week, Major League Baseball approved the $3.9 billion sale of the San Diego Padres to a private equity billionaire and his wife. That beats the $2.4 billion hedge fund manager Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020. Meanwhile, the National Football League moved closer to approving a record $9.6 billion sale for the Seattle Seahawks. On Friday, the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and WNBA’s Lynx were sold in a deal valued at $4.5 billion. And baseball’s most valuable team, the Yankees, agreed this month to a $2.6 billion injection from Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, for a minority stake in the team. Private equity’s growing interest in sports teams is another sign of the buying boom, said Irwin Kirshner, the head of the sports law group at the law firm Herrick Feinstein. “Every year (valuations) seems to go up more, and so I think private equity started to recognize the value of this opportunity,” Kirshner said. Media rights, sports betting help drive growth The value of live sports broadcasts has never been higher. In the age of on-demand viewership, sports broadcasts are one of the only things people will watch with advertisements. The entry of streaming services such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix have only increased the rights fees. “Who knows what new technology will come out to distribute the games,” said Galatioto. “If you own the content, it doesn’t matter how it’s distributed.” Sports betting, legalized in a 2018 Supreme Court decision, has growing mainstream appeal, supercharging viewership. When people have money riding on an event, they’re more likely to watch two teams they otherwise would have little interest in. “You might have as much as a billion dollars a year in total gambling money being handed over to the teams and leagues,” said Matheson, including a new pool of sponsors. “And there’s the thought that people who are gambling more are more likely to tune in, which means more butts in the seats, as well as more eyeballs on the TVs.” Lastly, sports teams are a limited commodity — there are only so many available for sale. Some, like the Padres, only go on the block when their owner passes away. But there are also teams like the NFL’s New York Giants, who have been under the control of the Mara family for more than a century, that are willing to sell off a portion of their team. Selling minority stakes in sports teams is nothing new, but the practice has become more common. And the makeup of the buyers is also becoming broader: American investors are swallowing up European soccer clubs, while North American sports clubs are getting purchased by foreign investors. Many of these owners are counting on one fact: Even if they overpay or lose money in the short term, eventually selling the team will result in a big payday. “You can afford to overpay as long as you believe that there will be people in the future willing to overpay by at least as much or more,” said Matheson. By Chris Isidore, CNN
