Josh Harris says more sports assets aren’t likely to go public
Washington Commanders Josh Harris (L), on April 28, 2025, during a press conference on the construction of a new commander stadium on Washington DC, Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (C) and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (R) are combined.
Win McNamee | Getty Images
In the last decade, private capital investor Josh Harris built one of the largest holdings in sports.
Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment he founded together Black In 2017, the manager David Blitzer has majority shares in most of the most valuable sports leagues in the world. This includes NFL’s Washington commanders, NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, NHL’s New Jersey demons and stocks at the Premier League’s Crystal Palace. Earlier this year, the group paid a $ 250 million franchise fee for the Philadelphia WNBA expansion team, which is expected to play in 2030.
This quickly made HBSE one of the most valuable sports ownership groups in the world. In fact, CNBC’s 2025 most valuable sports empires list was third with a value of $ 14.58 billion.
However, the ongoing rising values raise a question that returns to time as Harris’s private capital manager: Will HBSE or other sports teams and the Great Owner Holdings begin to open to the public?
Orum I don’t think, Har Harris said, CNBC, Scott Wapner to CNBC Sport and California, Mountroom Game Plan in Santa Monica on Tuesday.
“When you think that public offering and sports assets have been open to the public so far, it has been given more valued as private beings.” He said. “You have not seen public values have exceeded special values, so people tend to keep them special.”
Madison Square Garden’s Sports assets, including New York Knicks and Rangers, are among the only US sports teams belonging to public companies.
If you look at these examples, Harris said, “they often trade under their inner values and they are not embraced as much as we want.”
Harris said that most of the clubs stay away from public markets.
“People tend to keep them special, because you want to spend to win as a team of running,” he said. “You want to get a very long -term perspective and the public markets did not always adopt it.”
Harris won a big win for the commanders this year, and Washington made a $ 3.7 billion agreement to place his team on the DC on the grounds of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.
He said, “We will not see a profit from it years and years later.”
In particular, most of the teams in NFL are interpersonal assets and leagues have made new ways to raise money. Last year, the league voted to approve distinguished private capital companies to get minority shares in NFL franchisees.
Harris said the approach has been positive so far.
“Most of the funds are long -dated funds and do not have typical things that private capital often have, such as control.” He said. “This allows the owners like me to think too long, … In the long term they bet in the city, they know admiration support and league growth.”
