New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft speaks to media at Gillette Stadium to announce the team’s hiring of head coach Jerod Mayo.
Eric Canha | USAToday | Reuters
Robert Kraft, who paid $172 million for the New England Patriots in 1994, has agreed to sell 8% of the NFL team to two groups in a deal that values the franchise at $9 billion, according to two sources who have first-hand knowledge of the deal but are not authorized to speak about it publicly.
The money the team will get from selling the 8% stake is going to stay on the Patriots’ balance sheet, according to one person close to the situation, meaning the post-money valuation of the Patriots is greater than $9 billion.
The sale does not include the New England Revolution, the Major League Soccer team also owned by the Kraft family, according to one source close to the deal.
The buyers are Sixth Street Capital, at about 3%, and Dean Metropoulos with about 5%, according to a person with first-hand knowledge of the deal who is not authorized to speak about it. Metropoulos is listed by Forbes as having a net worth of $4.1 billion.
The minority stake sale of the Patriots must still be approved by the NFL’s finance committee.
Two other minority stake sales are slated to be voted on by the league’s finance committee in October. First, a 10% sale of the New York Giants to Julia Koch, which would give the team a $10.3 billion valuation, according to an NFL owner. And Sports Business Journal reported about a vote on a 3.2% sale of the San Francisco 49ers to Fortress Investment Group Chairman Pete Briger Jr. at a $8.6 billion valuation.
Several days ago, a 2.35% stake of the Chicago Bears changed hands at a valuation of $8.9 billion.
The Patriots also own Gillette Stadium, which opened in 2002 and was renovated at a cost of $250 million in 2023. According an internal NFL document obtained by CNBC, last season the Patriots raked in $118 million in ticket receipts, 11th-highest in the league.
Earlier this month CNBC valued the Patriots at $9.25 billion, fifth-most among the league’s 32 teams. The Patriots have won six Super Bowls, all under Kraft’s ownership, and are tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the most in football.
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