These former NFC East rivals hope to acquire an NFL team in the future.
Jason Kelce is interested in purchasing stock in the Philadelphia Eagles. He would better move quickly to avoid being beaten to it by a former division competitor.
Eli Manning, the former quarterback for the Giants, owns a minority stake in the National Women’s Soccer League team Gotham FC. He is a co-owner of Brand Velocity, a private equity firm. His current dream is to purchase an NFL team.
Manning’s partner Drew Scheinman and Bloomberg’s Anna J. Kaiser claim that the 43-year-old is “definitely” interested in purchasing stock in one NFL team, but which one?
Weeks later, Bloomberg’s Gillian Tan reported that Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was working with New York- and Chicago-based investment banks to seek potential buyers for a minority share of the team.
Lurie bought the Eagles from Norman Braman in 1994 for $185M. He’s owned the Eagles nearly twice as long as any owner in franchise history and according to Bloomberg, his team is now worth about $7.5B.
No wonder Manning wants in on NFL ownership. But so does Kelce. During a recent “New Heights” podcast, which he hosts with his brother Travis, the retired center and future analyst said that he’d walk away from his ESPN deal to own a piece of the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Listen, I’ll back out of the TV deal right now if you tell me I could own the Philadelphia Eagles,” Jason said.
“What? No way!” Travis said, to which Jason replied, “Come on, are you kidding me? To be an owner? That’s like another level.”
Surely, Lurie would rather sell to Kelce than a division rival like Manning but unfortunately for both, neither has the means to buy a franchise outright and NFL rules prohibit ownership by private equity firms, for now.
According to ESPN’s Michael Rothstein, a special committee of NFL owners has been investigating potential changes to the league’s rules for ownership.
A change in policy could free up cash for owners to invest in other areas or pursue projects such as stadium renovations. So what could Kelce or Manning get with their piece of the NFL pie? That depends.
Limited partners rarely have decision-making power with NFL teams which could be frustrating for those investing millions. However, limited partnerships can lead to majority ownership, even if it’s with another team.
Before taking over their current teams, owners Jimmy Haslam of the Cleveland Browns and David Tepper of the Carolina Panthers were minority owners of the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to Forbes, each franchise is currently valued at over $4 billion, which is significantly more than the combined salaries of Manning ($252 million) and Kelce ($81 million).
