Three months after the Boston Celtics set records for a professional sports team with a sale price of $6 billion, the Los Angeles Lakers recently raised the ante with a $10 billion franchise price tag. But this record might not last long as the NFL’s New York Giants are shopping an ownership stake which may put the team’s overall value above $10 billion.
Too rich for your blood? Consider buying a SailGP team.
The sailing league has expansion plans for the 2026 season, unveiling details of a tender process to seek investment for ownership of two new teams, alongside available stakes across existing national teams.
Open to investors across sport, business and entertainment, expressions of interest are now open, with initial bids closing in mid-August with the selection process set to complete by early September 2025.
“With 12 teams now on the startline, SailGP is well primed to introduce two new nations to the fleet from 2026 onwards,” said SailGP Managing Director Andrew Thompson.
“This tender will ensure a rigorous, transparent, and globally-connected process, and look forward to engaging investors who share our vision and values. Off the back of recent growth, we see this as the right moment to engage partners who will help grow the Rolex SailGP Championship in strategic markets.”
The global racing championship welcomed two new nations to the fleet in the 2025 Season – Italy and Brazil. The Deloitte Sports Business Group will provide M&A and financial advisory services to SailGP, managing the selection and sale process.
The participation agreement for Seasons 2026-30 – which details the terms in which teams will continue to operate within the SailGP framework – was renewed for all twelve teams earlier this year. This includes a cost cap per season for all teams, a central profit distribution system, and other provisions to benefit teams in the championship, commercially and competitively.
Details: projecthydroteam@deloitte.co.uk
SailGP information – Portsmouth event – YouTube – Facebook
Season 5 Leaderboard (after 6 events)
1. Spain – Diego Botin, 46 points
2. Australia – Tom Slingsby, 45 points
3. New Zealand – Peter Burling, 44 points
4. Great Britain – Dylan Fletcher, 41 points
5. Canada – Giles Scott, 38 points
6. France – Quintin Delapierre, 36 points*
7. Switzerland – Sebastien Schneiter, 20 points
8. Denmark – Nicolai Sehested, 14 points**
9. Italy – Ruggero Tita, 13 points
10. Brazil – Martine Grael, 9 point**
11. Germany – Erik Heil, 0 points**
12. United States – Taylor Canfield, 0 points**
* France was awarded points for the first two events as their F50 was not available
**Teams receive season penalty points for incidents during practice or racing
Season 5 Schedule – 14 events *
2024
November 23-24 – Dubai, UAE
2025
January 18-19 – Auckland, New Zealand
February 8-9 – Sydney, Australia
March 15-16 – Los Angeles, USA
March 22-23 – San Francisco, USA
May 3-4 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
June 7-8 – New York City, USA
July 19-20 – Portsmouth, Great Britain
August 16-17 – Sassnitz, Germany
September 6-7 – Taranto, Italy
September 12-13 – Saint-Tropez, France
September 20-21 – Geneva, Switzerland
October 4-5 – Andalucía – Cádiz, Spain
November 7-8 – Middle East
November 29-30 – Grand Final – Abu Dhabi, UAE
* The season began with 14 events but Tranto was replaced with Saint-Tropez, while Rio and Middle East were cancelled though Rio may be rescheduled.
Format for Season 5:
• Teams compete in identical F50 catamarans.
• Each event runs across two days.
• Five qualifying fleet races of approximately 15 minutes may be scheduled for each regatta.
• The top three teams from qualifying advance to a final race to be crowned event champion and earn the largest share of the prize purse (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $400,000.00 USD prize purse with winning team earning $200k at each event).
• The season ends with the Grand Final, which includes the Championship Final Race for the top three teams in the season standing with the winner claiming a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had $2 million USD prize).
• The top team on points ahead of the three-boat Championship Final will get a monetary award (amount not confirmed; Season 4 had a $350,000.00 prize).
• The league currently maintains control ownership of the teams based in Denmark, New Zealand, and Spain, though it’s actively in the process of selling the Spanish team.
For competition documents, click here.
Established in 2018, SailGP seeks to be an annual, global sports league featuring fan-centric inshore racing among national teams in some of the iconic harbors around the globe.
Source: SailGP, CNN