Goldman Sachs Plans New Unit To Sell Private Sports Teams to Wealthy Clients

Investment bank Goldman Sachs is planning to sell its clients something that most sports fans can only dream of — ownership of a sports team.

The bank said it is developing a new "sports franchise unit" that combines mergers and acquisitions with sports financing, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the plans. The division's primary goal is to work with asset and wealth management teams to convince Goldman's most affluent clients to invest in private sports teams, stadiums and "other flashy deals," per the Journal.

While the bank declined to tell the Journal which teams clients might invest in, Goldman has worked on a variety of high-profile sports transactions in the past, including deals with Formula One and last year's sale of Chelsea Football Club to a consortium led by a trio of billionaires and private equity firm Clearlake Capital.

The investment bank has financed some of the biggest stadium deals in sports involving franchises that include the New York Yankees and the San Francisco 49ers, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Minor-league teams, which can be riskier investments than established major-leaguers, are also on the table, per the Journal.

Sports teams offer a unique investment opportunity because they usually come with a dedicated fanbase and perks, like the chance to sit in the front row at a game, hang out with famous athletes and avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes. Investors may also be drawn to particular teams not just for the financial rewards but by their passion for the game, nostalgia, family loyalty or a sense of belonging.

Team ownership has become something of a status symbol for the rich, and especially for the famous, as interest in such high visibility purchases has surged over the last few years.

Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen committed $1.5 billion to free agents since he bought the New York Mets in 2020, while the Washington Commanders football team was sold to a group led by Josh Harris, the co-founder of private equity firm Apollo Global Management, earlier this year. Harris also owns stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers NBA team and the New Jersey Devils NHL team through Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment.

"These things are episodic and monopolistic,” Greg Carey, who will co-lead Goldman's new sports franchise unit selling stakes in sports teams, told the Journal. “People have to die or get in trouble.”

Carey, the chairman of Goldman’s public sector and infrastructure group, will run the company's sports franchise division alongside Dave Dase, who heads of Goldman's Southeast Region, per the Journal.