Goldman Sachs' latest report on sports investing describes a sector that now behaves like an institutional asset class, with record valuations, new sources of capital and a growing share of value tied to venues and real estate.
Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management has published Playing for Scale: The Future of Sports Investing, a follow-up to its 2024 report Getting in the Game. The report was written in response to client interest in owning stakes in professional teams. It draws on Goldman's sports banking teams and on interviews with more than a dozen controlling and limited partner owners.
Its central argument is that sport has become a multi-billion-dollar institutional asset class. Valuations are at record highs, but so are the operating and capital demands placed on owners. The global sports market is forecast to grow 44% to $602 billion by 2030, with growth expected from entertainment, IP licensing, fantasy sports, betting and streaming.
Valuations and media rights
Average team valuations across the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and European football grew at 14% a year between 2020 and 2025, from $1.6 billion to $3.7 billion. In 2025, all of the world's 100 most valuable teams were worth more than $2 billion. In 2010, none were.
Media rights remain the main driver. Global sports media rights rose from $41 billion in 2020 to $58 billion in 2025 and are expected to reach close to $67 billion in 2026, a World Cup year. Because leagues share this income with their teams, the report treats it as a key support for rising valuations.
Streaming platforms now account for around 20% of the rights market, up from 8% in 2021, and are expected to spend $14.2 billion on sports rights in 2026. Recent renewals show the scale of the uplift: the WNBA's new deal is worth four times its predecessor and Roland Garros' 5.5 times. The picture is not uniform, however. Domestic deals in Europe have been flat, and France's Ligue 1 launched its own direct-to-consumer service in 2025 after two TV deals fell through.
Institutional capital and the rise of platforms
The number of private equity deals in global sport rose from 50 in 2018 to 192 in 2025. Sovereign wealth funds led the way from 2014, and the report says institutional money has since begun to price wealthy individuals out of control ownership.
The NFL was the last major US league to open up to funds, in 2024. Its rules require a fund to buy between 3% and 10% of a team, hold the stake for at least six years, have at least $2 billion in capital and put no more than 20% of it into one team. Minority stakes are now changing hands at record prices: the Chicago Bears' owners bought back a 2.3% stake at an $8.9 billion valuation, and the Philadelphia Eagles sold 8% at $8.3 billion.
Capital is also arriving as credit rather than equity. Apollo lent £80 million to Nottingham Forest in 2025, secured against the club's physical assets. CVC paid LaLiga $2.1 billion in 2021 for 8.25% of its broadcast rights over 50 years, money that participating clubs have since spent on infrastructure and commercial projects.
Ownership itself is changing shape. The model of one owner, one team, one league is giving way to groups with stakes across several sports and countries. Fenway Sports Group owns Liverpool F.C. and the Boston Red Sox alongside a regional sports network and mixed-use real estate. Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of Arsenal and the Denver Nuggets, has agreed to buy MLB's Los Angeles Angels at a record $4 billion valuation. In football, clubs within multi-club structures rose from fewer than 60 in 2014 to more than 340 in 2024.
Stadiums as year-round districts
The report treats stadium development as a core way for owners to diversify revenue beyond matchday. It cites a forecast for the global smart stadium market to grow from $8 billion in 2024 to $38 billion by 2033. SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles sits within a 300-acre development that includes the YouTube Theater, the Cosm immersive venue and luxury retail. In Japan, Es Con Field anchors the 81-acre Hokkaido Ballpark Village, with a brewery, hotel and museum built into the district.
The cost of building is rising sharply. A major league stadium built in the US since 2020 has cost $1.7 billion on average, 142% more than the 2010s average. The report identifies two responses. Under a public-private partnership, owners use municipal financing and tie the stadium to wider regeneration: the Tennessee Titans' $2.1 billion enclosed stadium, due to open in 2027, is backed by $500 million in state bonds and $760 million in Metro Nashville bonds. Under a private model, owners self-finance in exchange for full control of the asset and its programme.
One owner interviewed for the report described a “365 day” approach: adding a branded hotel and a music venue around the team, and judging the return through an IRR framework that also tracks brand, fan and community impact.
New frontiers: women's sport, college sport and global expansion
Global women's sports revenue is projected to reach around $3 billion in 2026, more than four times its 2022 level. The average WNBA team is now valued at $414 million, up 52% in a year, and the average NWSL club at $200 million, up 49%. The report notes that only a handful of NWSL teams, and no WNBA teams, own their gameday stadiums, and names this as the next growth lever for the sector. It also expects that capturing that real estate value will take a decade or longer and lean heavily on public-private partnerships.
US college sport is being rebuilt after a 2025 settlement in which the NCAA agreed to pay $2.8 billion in back damages and allowed schools to pay athletes directly. Universities are setting up for-profit commercial arms to close funding gaps: Otro Capital has put $500 million into the University of Utah's new entity, and RedBird Capital invested $12.5 million in the Big 12 alongside a $30 million credit line for member schools.
US leagues are also looking abroad. The NFL is playing 10 international games in the 2026-27 season and is aiming for 16 a year, which at around $55 million per game could add $880 million in annual revenue. The NBA is exploring a European league. Traffic runs the other way too: Manchester United's 2025 match against West Ham at MetLife Stadium drew a record 82,566 fans.
The report also notes a growing debate about public listings. The Atlanta Braves, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus already trade publicly, but disclosure requirements and the tendency of listed clubs to trade below private valuations may encourage most owners to keep raising money privately.
The report concludes that owners and investors will be best placed by pairing disciplined capital allocation with a clear view of how fans, media companies, brands and communities now value sport.
Source: Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, Playing for Scale: The Future of Sports Investing (2026). Figures are as cited in the report, which draws on third-party sources including Deloitte, Houlihan Lokey, S&P Global and Forbes.