Giants co-owners John Mara and Steve Tisch had been looking to sell a non-controlling minority stake in their franchise.
And now, they have.
Here’s Bloomberg with more:
The New York Giants have agreed to sell a minority stake in the storied franchise to Julia Koch and members of the billionaire Koch family, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The talks are subject to final agreement by both sides, with the expectation to present the deal to other NFL owners in October, the people said, asking not to be named discussing private information.
The Giants are one of the five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, and have been owned by the Mara family since. In 1991, the Tisch family bought half of the club. The franchise is now the third-most valuable NFL team, with a valuation of $10.25 billion, according to Sportico.
Koch has been looking to invest in New York sports assets. She and her three children bought 15% of BSE Global, the parent company of the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and Barclays Center in 2024 at a $6 billion valuation.
Julia, the widow of David Koch, is worth $78.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
OK, so what does this all mean?
Let’s break it down, with these additional details from Sportico: “The deal is for 10% of the franchise and at a record valuation of more than $10 billion.”
First, it’s worth reemphasizing: This is a non-controlling stake, with Sportico noting that “the deal does not include any path to control.”
Why would Mara and Tisch sell off a piece of their franchise? Well, it’s easy money. Mara and Tisch, who were looking to sell up to 10% of the team, are now set to get just north of $1 billion in cash.
(Which is more than enough money to buy out failed, fired head coaches and general managers for many years to come.)
Why would Koch buy a piece of the Giants if she can’t control day-to-day operations (a job that will continue to belong to Mara)? It’s very simple: NFL teams do not lose money and never will. If you can afford to drop $1 billion-plus for 10% of the Giants, there’s no telling how much that piece will be worth in, say, 20 years.
Koch emerged in May as a competitor to two separate prospective minority ownership groups that included Giants legends Michael Strahan and Eli Manning. In early June, Manning bowed out, while saying, “It’s too expensive for me.”
Yes, this is “just” a non-controlling stake that Koch landed. Still, it’s a very expensive stake whose value will only increase in the coming years — a no-brainer investment if you can make it. (Pretty much no one can.)
Bottom line: Easy cash (right now) for Mara and Tisch, who inherited the Giants from their fathers. And easy cash (at some point down the road) for Koch, who inherited her husband’s fortune when he died in 2019.
For context, the 49ers just got a record $8.6 billion valuation while selling 6.2% of the team. The Eagles, who have also sold a minority stake (8%), had the NFL’s previous record ($8.3 billion).
The Giants now hold that NFL record — and have apparently slightly surpassed the Lakers for the U.S. professional sports record valuation. The Lakers were valued at $10 billion when Mark Walter bought them from the Buss family in June — a majority ownership sale.
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Darryl Slater may be reached atdslater@njadvancemedia.com.
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