The NFL’s Seattle Seahawks team has sold for a record-breaking $9.6 billion. Technology executive and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, at the ripe age of 71, has reportedly spent more than any other sports team has sold for in the acquisition from the estate of Microsoft co‑founder Paul Allen. Owning a sports team is perhaps one of the ultimate fantasies for many people, and it’s certainly a status symbol that requires being a billionaire to accomplish. Or does it?
The reality is that even small investors and the rest of us can own a piece of sports teams as well. Some teams are actually listed equities with stocks that can be bought and sold at any time. So, is owning a piece of a public sports team a good investment for regular retail investors?
Oggonomics has compiled a small list of publicly-trade sports teams. Most professional sports teams are owned by billionaires. The list of public sports teams also shows that these teams are all worth billions of dollars each, but they are actually attainable investments for the rest of us. Now it’s time to decide whether or not they are suitable investments.
Don’t forget one of the top mantras from Oggonomics — You do not have to be a “one-percenter” to think and act like a “one-percenter.”
SO, ARE TEAMS SUITABLE INVESTMENTS?
The ownership structures of sports teams may not always be simple because some team ownership is combined, and one “team” is actually the owner of the Formula One racing dynasty. This list of public teams includes the combined entity of the New York Knick and New York Rangers, baseball’s Atlanta Braves, and even soccer’s Manchester United.
Oggonomics also has listed the top valuations for other sports teams, using the 2025 Forbes list of the most valuable sports teams as a reference. Each investor will need to do much more due diligence than this to find out if owning any of these public sports team is a suitable investment, and these have been highlighted with no additional information outside of their valuations, revenues, assets, price-to-book value (from Finviz) and how their stocks have looked over the last year.
Investors should probably keep in mind that if they do buy shares of any public sports teams that they can’t just show up at the gate and expect free entrance into the games. And those owner boxes and VIP boxes in the stadiums will still laugh you out of the room if you try to enter that inner sanctum. You probably won’t be getting free autographs either… Here goes!
KNICKS & RANGERS COMBINED
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS) owns and operates a portfolio that includes the NBA’s New York Knicks, the NHLs New York Rangers and other teams and assets. This was previously tied to Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (MSGE) before a recent reorganization.
- Stock & 52-Week Range: $381.90 vs. range of $188.60 to $411.73
- Market Cap: $9.2 billion
- 2025 Revenues: $1.04 billion
- 2025 Total Assets: $1.58 billion
- Price-to-Book Value: n/a
MANCHESTER UNITED (UK)
Manchester United Plc (MANU) is the owner of the famous Manchester United men’s soccer team in the U.K., as well as women’s and U21 and U18 teams. One additional consideration is that Manchester United has been considered as a buyout target on multiple occasions since its IPO in 2012.
- Stock & 52-Week Range: $22.05 vs. range of $14.59 to $24.22
- Market Cap: $3.8 billion
- 2025 Revenues: $891.6 million (converted from British Pound at today’s exchange rates)
- 2025 Total Assets: $2.19 billion (converted from British Pound at today’s exchange rates)
- Price-to-Book Value: 16.0
ATLANTA BRAVES
Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc. (BATRA) operates the Atlanta Braves baseball franchise and Truist Park, as well as mixed-use development operations within The Battery Atlanta. It was also tied to Liberty media before a fairly recent reorganization.
- Stock & 52-Week Range: $55.74 vs. range of $41.50 to $57.83
- Market Cap: $3.3 billion
- 2025 Revenues: $732.49 million
- 2025 Total Assets: $1.58 billion
- Price-to-Book Value: 6.9
FORMULA ONE
Formula One Group (FWONK) is in the media and entertainment industries, operating through the Formula One and related segments like MotoGP and other minority investments. This Liberty Media entity holds exclusive commercial rights for the world championship annual motor racing competition, so it may not be considered a traditional “team” in relation to the others.
- Stock & 52-Week Range: $96.13 vs. range of $80.15 to $109.36
- Market Cap: $23.9 billion
- 2025 Revenues: $4.48 billion
- 2025 Total Assets: $11.76 billion
- Price-to-Book Value: 3.12
THE MOST VALUABLE SPORTS FRANCHISES
To see how this record-breaking sale valuations of the public-traded sports teams stack up against the other top sports franchises, the Forbes 2025 list of the most valuable sports franchises is below:
- Dallas Cowboys at $13 billion
- Golden State Warriors at $11 billion
- Los Angeles Rams at $10.5 billion
- New York Giants at $10.1 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers at $10 billion
- New York Knicks at $9.75 billion (featured above)
- New England Patriots at $9 billion
- San Francisco 49ers at $8.6 billion
- Philadelphia Eagles at $8.3 billion
- Chicago Bears at $8.2 billion
- New York Yankees at $8.2 billion
