NFL owners approve joint investment vehicle with General Atlantic

The NFL agreed to create a new investment vehicle with private equity firm General Atlantic, a plan owners signed off on at league meetings in New York on October 20, Sportico reported.

The venture will back companies working in fandom, sports, media and technology, the league and the firm said in a joint statement. Both the NFL's 32 Equity arm and General Atlantic will put in money, and the partners intend to seek additional capital from outside investors, a league representative said. The NFL will act as general partner, a structure that would let owners collect carried interest on profitable deals — a form of compensation absent from the league's business today. The representative would not say how large the fund is meant to be.

The NFL started 32 Equity in 2013 with $1 million from each club, and owners have topped it up twice since, lifting committed capital to $256 million as of 2022. Its holdings include Fanatics, On Location and DAZN. Profits from the arm are kept outside the revenue pool shared with players under the salary cap.

General Atlantic, founded in 1980, manages roughly $130 billion and holds stakes in Anthropic, Vuori and Athletic Brewing.

This story was first reported by Sportico.com.