The National Football League's strategic investment arm, 32 Equity, has entered a partnership with General Atlantic, a private equity firm known for its investments in registered investment advisors (RIAs) including Creative Planning and Farther. The collaboration, announced following the NFL's October meeting in New York, aims to expand 32 Equity's footprint into sports, media, fan engagement, and technology ventures.
Under the arrangement, both the NFL and General Atlantic will contribute capital and raise funds from outside investors, according to a representative cited by Sportico. The league will serve as general partner, meaning NFL owners would share in carried interest—profits that fall outside the revenue-sharing pool with players. Specific terms and the target fund size were not disclosed.
32 Equity was established in 2013 with $1 million from each of the league's 32 owners, and has since amassed at least $256 million in capital, per Sportico. Last year, owners authorized a $32 million investment to help seed a new flag football league, underscoring the NFL's interest in expanding its reach. Matt LaPorta, a former MLB player turned private equity investor who joined Dynasty Financial Partners in June to advise RIAs on sports investments, highlighted the importance of media rights timing in evaluating sports deals. "Media deals are a huge calculation into this whole thing," LaPorta told InvestmentNews. "We have to make sure the timing's right, when is our new media deal, when does the old one run out."
For financial advisors, General Atlantic's involvement is notable. The firm took a minority stake in Creative Planning in February 2020, when the Kansas-based RIA managed $50 billion. Creative Planning now reports more than $780 billion in assets under management or advisement, making it one of the largest firms in the space. General Atlantic also led a $150 million Series D round in Farther, a tech-forward RIA startup, in May.
General Atlantic is not the only private equity firm straddling both the NFL and RIA sectors. Carlyle, which acquired a majority stake in Cleveland-based MAI Capital Management in March, closed a minority investment in the Seattle Seahawks in September. The NFL opened franchise ownership to approved private equity firms in 2024, capping their stakes at 10%. Bloomberg reported this week that Apollo Global Management and Blackstone are in preliminary talks to join the approved list, though approval is unlikely before 2027.
The partnership reflects a broader trend of sports investing gaining traction among wealth managers. As Wealthspire's sports and entertainment unit demonstrates, RIAs are increasingly catering to athletes and investors seeking exposure to sports assets. However, advisors should note that some new RIAs are shunning private equity altogether, suggesting a divergence in strategies.
LaPorta also emphasized the potential of women's flag football to drive NFL fandom. "Women's flag football is going to be super important for NFL [fandom] because now you can get all these young females and women playing an awesome game," he said. "There could be a world where every NFL owner owns a flag team, maybe a female flag team."
For advisors, the NFL's move into sports investing via private equity partners could open new opportunities for client portfolios, but it also carries risks. As private equity has outperformed public pensions in recent years, interest in alternative assets remains high. Yet, the illiquidity and complexity of sports investments require careful due diligence.
