Report: NFL sets meetings with private equity groups

The NFL will meet with private equity firms this week as it considers changing its policy about institutional funds being able to own teams, Sportico reported Monday.

The league will conduct one meeting with Arctos Partners and another with a group featuring Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC and Dynasty Equity, the report said. The list of firms also reportedly interested in NFL ownership includes Apollo, Ares and Sixth Street.

The NFL is the only major North American sports league that prohibits private equity ownership in a franchise. The NBA, NHL, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer all limit their teams to selling no more than 30 percent of equity to a fund.

Sportico reported that the NFL is looking at 10 percent as a potential cap.

The most recent NFL team to be sold was the Washington Commanders, a record-breaking $6.05 billion transaction. With team valuations on the rise, private equity could be an alternative avenue for franchise sales in the future.

The NFL formed a committee last year to explore changing its rules governing ownership, with Clark Hunt (Kansas City Chiefs), Jimmy Haslam (Cleveland Browns), Arthur Blank (Atlanta Falcons), Greg Penner (Denver Broncos) and Robert Kraft (New England Patriots) serving on the committee.

Commissioner Roger Goodell said in March that they were "very close to sort of outlining an approach," with "a lot of work to do to take that approach into reality."

--Field Level Media