The Washington Capitals and Wizards etched their name in history by becoming the first teams from the “top U.S. sports leagues” to accept investment from a non-native wealth fund.
According to Front Office Sports, the Qatar Investment Authority paid $200 million to acquire a 5% share in the parent company, Monumental Sports and Entertainment.
Monumental CEO Ted Leonsis shared this with the Washington Post, “I believe other teams and other leagues will all be embracing pension funds, college endowments, university endowments, and sovereign wealth funds as investors, as a part of the tapestry of their investment base,”
The investment was earlier announced in June and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has also confirmed that no other investments following June have been made yet. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has also acknowledged that the league will eventually have to consider foreign investments as well.
Leonsis further shares about the nature of the investments, as they consider this isn’t a traditional investment. He shares, “expects to get their money back and return in a five-to-seven-year period,”
“A sovereign wealth fund invests directly — they have no time horizon. They want to invest and keep it over a long, long period of time.”
Front Office Sports further reveals that in Major League Soccer, the team NYCFC which is owned by City Football Group is owned mainly by a Royal Family Member of Abu Dhabi.
The Washington Capitals and Wizards are the first teams from U.S. big four leagues to accept sovereign wealth fund investments.
Monumental CEO Ted Leonsis believes more wealth funds will soon add sports to their portfolios.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) November 8, 2023
Other than this, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is also making a stir by supporting LIV Golf. The PIF-owned SRJ Sports Investments also owns stock in the Professional Fighters League, based in the U.S.
