FEATURED STORY
The Millionaire’s Guide to Owning a European Football Club
Photo: Brentford FC gets promoted from the Championship to the Premier League.
Buy low, sell high.
The ultimate investing formula that’s found in everything from Investing For Dummies to ultra-exclusive opportunities reserved for the American billionaires…
And that’s owning and operating a lower-division European football club.
Which, to be fair, can be one of the most lucrative – but misunderstood – assets in sports.
It’s akin to the American dream, but for sports business. Acquire a historic, undervalued mid-to-lower league club with a loyal fanbase. Operate it smartly. Climb the pyramid. Reach the promised land – the Premier League, for example – where broadcast revenues alone exceed £100M annually.
Your asset skyrockets in value overnight.
Exhibit A: Matthew Benham, who actually did it.
As a lifelong Brentford fan, Benham took over the struggling London club in 2012 where it was sitting in League One, England’s third division.
He applied a “Moneyball” operating model leveraging his company Smartodds, a proprietary data analytics platform he founded for sports betting. He deployed PhD statisticians to reshape how the clubs analyzed and recruited talent, running the 14th-lowest wage bill out of 24 Championship clubs while identifying undervalued strikers like Ollie Watkins (bought £1.8M, sold for £28M), Saïd Benrahma (£2.7M → £25M), and Neal Maupay (£1.6M → £20M).
By 2021, Brentford was in the Premier League. After ~£100M of total investment, the club is now valued at £400M – a 4x money-on-money return.
The dream – but unfortunately, an exception.
There are ownership groups that buy lower-league English football clubs and not only fail to reach the promised land, but bury themselves in debt trying to get there. Bury FC (no pun intended) was expelled from the English Football League in 2019 for it. Reading FC required an emergency sale in May 2025 to prevent a similar fate.
But between Brentford’s dream outcome and Bury’s nightmare, there’s a healthy in-between.
We’ve been in deep talks with experts in the lower middle market European football landscape – team owners, MCOs, and investment bankers – to gather first-hand perspectives on the ecosystem.
And we came to a conclusion.
Divisions like the English League One offer something rare in sports investing: relatively affordable assets in a mature professional ecosystem, dedicated fandom, and a competitive environment where discipline matters more than check size.
And most importantly – extremely high upside.
Before we jump in, let’s break down the business anatomy.
Note: if you’re an investor or operator interested in this market, please respond to this email! We’d love to chat.
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LEAGUES & TEAMS
Photo: Penner Sports Group acquires 40% stake of Colorado Rockies at ~$1.7B valuation.
Penner Sports Group, the part ownership group of the Denver Broncos with the Waltons, acquires 40% stake of Colorado Rockies at ~$1.7B valuation (Apr. 10th)
Deal brings one of sports’ wealthiest ownership groups into MLB, providing capital and operational credibility to a struggling franchise
Monfort family retains control, but partnership signals potential turnaround as Rockies look to reset performance on and off the field [FOS]
LIV Golf pushes forward through 2026 season despite recent shutdown rumors (Apr. 15th)
CEO Scott O’Neil confirmed operations will continue “at full throttle,” as league plays out 14-event schedule with 8 tournaments remaining
Saudi PIF expected to continue funding through 2026, despite reports questioning support after ~$6B+ invested into the league [FOS]
NBA viewership rebounds to seven-year high as new media strategy kicks in; playoffs go fully national as local broadcasting gets phased out (Apr. 13-15th)
Avg. 1.78M viewers (+16% YoY) driven by more broadcast games (62 vs. 24)
Reach hit 170M+, with streaming partners helping bring in younger audiences
DOJ opens antitrust investigation into NFL’s media rights strategy (Apr. 9)
The U.S. Department of Justice is probing whether the NFL’s packaging of media rights and distribution model has become anti-competitive
Challenges whether the league’s long-standing antitrust protections still hold in a streaming-first era where games are increasingly split across platforms [WSJ]
WNBA approves expansion to Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia; plans first international game in 2027 (Apr. 9-13th)
NBA and WNBA Boards approved three new franchises, with Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029), and Philadelphia (2030) set to join the league
Vancouver pushes for MLB expansion bid as league eyes next growth markets (Apr. 14th)
City to launch process to identify an ownership group, signaling formal intent to compete for a future MLB franchise
Expansion timing tied to next CBA (Dec. 2026), with stadium fit and infrastructure emerging as key hurdles for a viable bid [CBC]
Kansas City Royals move closer to $1.9B downtown stadium as Kansas City pushes to keep team (Apr. 14th)
Key city boards approved next steps on a $1.9B ballpark, including up to $600M in public funding tied to stadium-driven tax revenue
Momentum driven by urgency to retain the Royals after the Chiefs’ planned move to Kansas reshaped local political and financing dynamics [FOS]
Chelsea ownership group BlueCo posts £630M loss as spending-heavy strategy comes into focus (Apr. 13th)
Reported £630M loss for 2024/25, with total losses surpassing £1.6B since acquisition due to aggressive investment strategy [Football London]
LA World Cup Fan Festivals will soon charge for World Cup Fan Festivals, despite being historically free (Apr. 9th)
Concerns around expensive security costs and strict FIFA limits around fundraising
Now charging $10 per fan festival events across LA, Boston, and NYC [FOS]
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STARTUPS & VENTURE CAPITAL
Photo: Real co-founders John and Louis Antonelli pictured above.
Social box score app Real raises their latest funding round led by Chernin Group (Apr. 13th)
Blends live stats, social interaction, and gamified collectibles, positioning itself as a “Pokémon for sports” with ~700K-900K daily users
Other investors include Pear Ventures, Operator Partners, and Tyrese Haliburton among others [FOS]
Asian University Basketball League (AUBL), a pan-regional college basketball platform, closes Series A led by Joe Tsai’s Blue Pool Capital (Apr. 9th)
League draws 65M+ streaming views and is expanding into a full home-and-away season across Asia, positioning itself as a “March Madness” equivalent for the region
Other investors include Avenue Capital, Bolt Ventures, HSG, Nan Fung Group, and Yao Ming - signals strong backing from global sports investors [AUBL]
Fastbreak AI, an AI-powered sports scheduling platform, receives investment from USTA Ventures (Apr. 16th)
Automates complex match scheduling across leagues, already used by the NBA, NHL, and MLS, now targeting 2M+ court hours of play scheduled manually
Funding will be used to streamline operations and reallocate resources toward growing tennis participation [USTA]
BASE Sports Group, a youth sports sponsorship sales platform, raises $2.5M round led by Balius Partners (Apr. 15th)
Connects brands to 100+ facilities across 40+ states, reaching 33M+ consumers through community sports
Other strategic investors includes Learfield CEO Greg Brown, Cavs CEO Len Komoroski, and former Learfield CFO Temple Weiss [YSBR]
Audio-tech leader Shure invests in EDGE Sound Research, an immersive audio tech platform, to upgrade fan experience (Apr. 15th)
EDGE’s tech uses AI-driven sound isolation to create more immersive broadcasts, already piloted with leagues like the NBA, MLS, and USTA
Partnership aims to enhance media rights value and unlock new premium audio experiences for fans and broadcasters [Shure]
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M&A AND INVESTMENTS
Photo: TPG acquires college sports media rights giant Learfield for ~$2B.
Private equity firm TPG agrees to acquire Learfield, a college sports media rights giant, in ~$2B deal (Apr. 13th)
Learfield represents 100+ schools and sits at the center of college sports commercialization as NIL reshapes the ecosystem
Deal marks a major bet by TPG Sports on “picks-and-shovels” infrastructure in college athletics, following Learfield’s recent debt restructuring and stabilization [Sportico]
26North closes $5.9B for inaugural private equity fund, blowing past its $4B target (Apr. 13th)
Fund targets middle-market opportunities across sectors including sports, media, and tech, with early bets like Bruin Capital and NEP Group
Backed by global LP base (pensions, sovereign wealth, endowments), signaling strong demand for flexible capital platforms in the current market [26North] [Josh Harris]
Bolt Ventures acquires Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, largest multi-day junior golf circuit in the U.S. (Apr. 9th)
Tour hosts 300+ events annually across 250 courses, serving youth golfers ages 8-18 in 24 states and internationally
Acquisition expands David Blitzer’s youth sports portfolio, with plans to scale participation, formats, and player development infrastructure [HJGT]
Fanatics-Tom Brady flag football deal with Saudi backing in jeopardy after funding pullback (Apr. 15th)
Riyadh Season withdrew funding after event moved from Riyadh to Los Angeles amid geopolitical tensions, putting multi-year deal at risk
Fanatics Studios expected to continue producing the Flag Football Classic regardless, following ~650K average viewers on Fox [FOS]
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STRATEGIC VENTURES
Photo: NBA exploring partnerships with prediction market juggernauts Kalshi and Polymarket.
NBA reportedly in active talks with Kalshi, Polymarket on prediction market deals (Apr. 16th)
Ramping up discussions with Kalshi and Polymarket, including internal team president calls, as regulatory momentum from the CFTC accelerates potential deal timing
Mirrors sportsbook partnerships (IP + official data rights), with the NBA open to multiple partners as comps like MLB-Polymarket (~$300M) set the market [FOS]
MADE Hoops, FIBA partner to launch global middle school basketball competition, expanding grassroots pipeline internationally (Apr. 13th)
Launching MADE Hoops Global Games, the first-ever middle school basketball championship
Signals growing globalization of youth basketball, linking U.S. grassroots with international development systems [SBJ]
NFL shops five-game 2026 media package to YouTube, Netflix, and Fox, testing next phase of distribution strategy (Apr. 11th)
Package includes premium inventory (international opener, Thanksgiving eve, Black Friday, Christmas Eve), giving bidders flexibility to curate slate
Signals continued experimentation between broadcast vs. streaming amid regulatory scrutiny and evolving fan consumption habits [NBC Sports]
Fubo pitches mini-RSN model to 13 NBA teams exiting Main Street, challenging DAZN & Victory+ (Apr. 15th)
Proposal includes ~$10M/team rights fees, hybrid linear + DTC distribution, and opt-out flexibility ahead of NBA’s future national platform [SBJ]
Concacaf, Netflix strike exclusive Mexico media deal for Gold Cup & Nations League Finals (Apr. 14th)
Four-year agreement gives Netflix exclusive Mexico rights to 2027 & 2029 editions of both competitions, deepening its live sports push
Highlights continued shift of premium international soccer rights toward streaming platforms in key global markets [CONCACAF]
NBC Sports and The Soccer Tournament, an emerging 7v7 soccer league, strike multi-platform media deal, bringing $1M soccer event to broadcast TV (Apr. 15th)
17 matches to air across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN, marking TST’s first live broadcast TV exposure
NBC to air four matches, NBCSN seven knockout games (including three $1M finals), and Peacock streaming six exclusive matches plus simulcasts [SVG]
Nike set to replace Adidas as UEFA Champions League ball sponsor, ending 25-year run; also becomes apparel sponsor for PLL and Women’s Lacrosse League (Apr. 12-13th)
Deal under discussion would cover UEFA men’s club competitions from 2027-2031, with annual value potentially exceeding €40M
Becomes official apparel partner of both the Premier Lacrosse League and Women’s Lacrosse League through 2028, replacing Champion and marking the largest jersey/apparel deal in league history [Yahoo Finance] [SBJ]
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JOB BOARD
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