NFL Philadelphia Eagles minority stake sale approved

The National Football league has approved the sale of a minority stake in the Philadelphia Eagles to two family investment groups. 

The deal is for an 8% stake in the team and values the Eagles at $8.3 billion, according to a league source.

The sale was approved Wednesday at an NFL owners’ meeting in Dallas. It includes the sports team alone and does not include the stadium or any other assets.

Longtime owner Jeffrey Lurie will maintain majority control of the team, said the source, who spoke anonymously to discuss internal operations.

According to CNBC’s Official NFL Team Valuations in September, the Philadelphia Eagles were the ninth most valuable team at $7 billion. CNBC valuations are based on control stakes.

The Eagles were No. 9 in the league by revenue last year, bringing in $669 million in 2023.

The latest sale illustrates the meteoric rise of sports team values, which have been exceptionally strong for the NFL. Over the more than three decades that Lurie owned the Eagles, the team’s value increased 13.2% annually, outpacing the S&P 500, which increased at a rate of 8.9% annually.

The Eagles received robust interest in the sale from families, individuals and private equity firms, according to the source.

The Eagles newest minority owners include Susan Kim, chairman of the board of Amkor Technology, a product packaging company. Zack Peskowitz and Olivia Peskowitz Suter will also join the investor team. They are the children of Ed Peskowitz, founder of United Communications Group and a former co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

Lurie has owned the Eagles since 1994, when he took out a loan to buy the team for $185 million.  

Under Lurie’s ownership, the Eagles won their first-ever Super Bowl title in 2018, in addition to several conference championships throughout his tenure. The Birds are currently ranked first in the NFC East with a record of 11-2.

Lurie first announced the potential sale of a minority stake in the team in June after the league voted to approve private equity investment.

In addition to the Eagles, NFL owners on Wednesday also approved new minority stakes in the Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills and Las Vegas Raiders, in the first transactions since the NFL voted to allow private equity investment this summer.

The Dolphins approved the sale of a 10% stake to Ares Management and a 3% take to Brooklyn Nets owners Joe Tsai and Oliver Weisberg, as previously reported by CNBC. In addition to the team, that transaction includes Hard Rock Stadium, the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix and continued investment in South Florida. The transaction marks Ares’ entry into NFL ownership. The group’s other sports assets include Inter Miami CF, McLaren Racing and Atletico de Madrid, among others.

Meanwhile, Terry and Kim Pegula, the majority owners of the Buffalo Bills, welcomed 10 new minority owners that include private equity firm Arctos; Rob Palumbo, co-managing partner of Accel-KKR; and former NBA players Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, among others.

“This has been an incredible journey to add such an impressive and diverse group of limited partners along with a reputable private equity partner in Arctos that has an extensive track record of success with professional sports franchises,” said Terry Pegula in a statement.

NFL owners also approved the sale of 15% of Mark Davis’ Las Vegas Raiders to Silver Lake co-CEO and Endeavor Board Chairman Egon Durban and Discovery Land Co. founder and Chairman Michael Meldman, according to The New York Times. This transaction comes after Davis sold about a 10.5% stake to Tom Brady and Knighthead Capital Management co-founder Tom Wagner in October.

— CNBC’s Michael Ozanian contributed to this report.

Correction: The Eagles deal is for an 8% stake in the team. An earlier version misstated the percentage.