NFL owners approved limited partnership stake sales in three teams on Wednesday at their annual fall meeting. The New York Giants, New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers were valued at a combined $29 billion in the deals, reinforcing investor appetite for the world’s richest sports league. Each sale was approved unanimously.
Julia Koch and her family are buying 10% of the Giants at a valuation just over $10.5 billion, according to two people familiar with the details. It marks the richest valuation for a sports team, which was previously $8.8 billion for a 2% stake in the Chicago Bears. Mark Walter agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers in a deal that values the NBA team at $10 billion, although that has not yet been approved.
The Mara and Tisch families, who control the franchise, each sold a 5% stake and now own 45%. The deal does not include any path to control.
Last year, Julia, alongside her three children—David Jr., Mary Julia and John—purchased 15% of BSE Global, which owns the Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty and control of the Barclays Center. Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai retained control of BSE, which was valued at $6.1 billion in the deal. Julia and her family are worth $79.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Moelis & Company was the Giants’ financial advisor, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP served as legal advisor. For Julia Koch, CAA Evolution and Paul, Weiss acted as her financial and legal advisor, respectively.
In August, the Giants were valued at $10.25 billion, third in Sportico’s NFL team valuations, behind only the Dallas Cowboys ($12.8 billion) and Los Angeles Rams ($10.43 billion).
The Patriots’ approval includes a 5% stake in the franchise to billionaire Dean Metropoulos and 3% to private equity firm Sixth Street. The transaction was at an $9 billion pre-money valuation and $9.7 billion post-money, with the investment dollars landing on the team’s balance sheet.
The Kraft family will still own more than 90% of the Patriots, and the deal does not include MLS’ New England Revolution, which the Kraft family also owns.
This is the first NFL deal for Sixth Street, which is one of the firms approved last year for NFL ownership. The firm, which has more than $100 billion in assets under management, has pushed hard into sports in recent years.
It began investing in sports in 2021, when it purchased 51% ownership of Legends, the events and hospitality business started by the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees. The Cowboys and the Yankees remain co-owners.
Sixth Street’s portfolio includes LaLiga giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, as well a 20% stake in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. It is the majority owner of the NWSL’s Bay FC. In 2025, it bought a stake in MLB’s San Francisco Giants and was part of the investment consortium led by William Chisholm that paid $6.1 billion for the NBA’s Boston Celtics.
The third deal approved was the 49ers’ 3.2% stake at an $8.6 billion valuation to Fortress Investment Group executive chairman Pete Briger Jr. and his family. The value marked the same as a 6% sale of the franchise last year. Denise DeBartolo York and her family still own roughly 85% of the Niners.