$10B Lakers Sale I Announcing Sports M&A X CapLink Group I NFL’s $2.7B Flex

Hi ,

This week, we’re excited to announce a strategic partnership between 150 Media and CapLink Group, joining forces to deliver a high-impact platform at the intersection of sports, private equity, and M&A.

Introducing SportsM&A × CapLink Group—your new hub for live summits, custom research, and precision-targeted newsletter advertising reaching over 400,000 investors and executives weekly.

Check out our first collaboration here and watch for exclusive dealmaking events soon.This issue, we dive into:

• The $10B Lakers deal that redefines team ownership

• Why private equity is eyeing college athletics as its next frontier

• Roger Staubach’s $600M real estate empire and what it means for athlete-entrepreneurs

• The $2.7B NFL media rights war, stadium investments in Europe, and esports’ mainstream moment

Want to reach sports dealmakers, investors, and strategists? Start Here.

Know someone who would love this? Here’s the link.

— The Sports150 Team

MEDIA & SPORTS

NFL: The $2.7 Billion Flex

When it comes to sports media rights, the NFL doesn’t just lead—it laps the field. ESPN/ABC’s $2.7B annual deal tops the latest rankings, with Fox, NBC, CBS, and YouTube all cutting billion-dollar checks for broadcast and streaming rights. It’s the ultimate diversified media play, reflecting how leagues now demand reach across every screen. NBA, March Madness, and the Olympics also crack the billion-dollar club, while even NASCAR is cashing in with $1.1B in annual rights spread across traditional and digital outlets. The big headline? Streaming isn’t knocking at the door—it owns a seat at the table, with Amazon and YouTube anchoring major rights packages. (More)

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH CAPLINK GROUP

The Private Markets Intelligence Summit of the Year

📍 October 15, 2025 | Well& by Durst, NYC

Join 300+ private markets leaders—GPs, LPs, operating partners, and advisors—for a single day of insights, strategy, and dealmaking at the New York Private Capital Summit.

This isn’t another networking event. It’s where strategy meets substance:

→ Keynotes from HarbourVest, Bloomberg, Australian Super
→ Deep-dives on secondaries, direct lending, GenAI, and ESG
→ Practical panels on fund formation, human capital, and tax strategy
→ A spotlight on emerging liquidity tools and NAV-based financing

With over 50 senior speakers from firms like Apollo, KKR, Carlyle, Neuberger Berman, and Warburg Pincus, the Summit is designed for decision-makers driving the next decade of private capital.

Reserve your seat before it sells out: Early Bird Access

INVESTOR CORNER

$10B for the Lakers: The Private Equity Playbook Just Got a New Benchmark

Mark Walter’s $10B buyout of the Lakers’ majority stake is now the most expensive team sale in U.S. sports history—leapfrogging the $6.1B Celtics deal still pending approval. The Buss family retains ~15%, but the real story is what this signals for sports as an institutional asset class.

Walter, already embedded via a 26% stake and right of first refusal, formalizes his control. The continuity clause—Jeanie Buss stays governor for several years—also highlights how sports transactions are evolving: less of a clean handoff, more of a co-managed asset transition.

It’s a strategic compounding move for TWG Global, which now controls the Dodgers, Sparks, parts of Chelsea FC, and PWHL teams—blending U.S. legacy brands with global sports reach. It also reinforces what Magic Johnson said: this is “a caretaker deal,” not just a financial one.

Why it matters: At a $10B valuation, the Lakers now sit above the average NFL franchise. With institutional capital circling and rulebooks loosening (see: the NFL’s PE pilot), team valuations are less about comps and more about cap tables. Expect more mega-deals—quietly structured, continuity-driven, and private equity-savvy. (More)

ENTREPRENEURS

Roger Staubach: The $600M Blueprint for Post-Career Wealth

Roger Staubach didn’t just quarterback the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowl wins—he quarterbacked one of the most successful athlete-to-business transitions in history. While Staubach made a modest $160K/year in his final NFL seasons, his post-retirement playbook led to a $613M exit in commercial real estate.

During offseasons in the 1970s, Staubach worked part-time as a broker before launching The Staubach Company in 1977. By 2008, he had scaled it to 70 offices and 1,600 employees before selling to JLL for nine figures.

His competitive edge? Translating football’s “resiliency and teamwork” into tenant rep services for Fortune 500 clients—long before athlete-led businesses were trendy. Importantly, Staubach’s success wasn’t a product deal or a media brand. It was operational scale, leadership culture, and long-term vision.

Why it matters: Staubach proved athletes can build enduring enterprise value, not just brand equity. His model—offseason apprenticeship, founder-led company, and strategic exit—remains a gold standard for today’s athlete-entrepreneurs chasing more than just endorsements. (More)

COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Private Equity Eyes the End Zone

College athletics is quietly becoming a new frontier for private equity. With rising costs, NIL-era chaos, and a shifting legal landscape, some of the biggest firms are circling—looking to securitize revenue or carve out equity in newly-formed JV-style entities. Think debt deals backed by media rights and ticket sales, or ownership stakes in Clemson-like LLCs bundling IP, merch, and sponsorship rights. But legal and structural hurdles remain: most programs sit inside nonprofit university budgets, and Title IX doesn’t play favorites. The early money will go to top-tier football brands willing to experiment. If those models succeed, expect a full blitz of capital—and a total redefinition of “student-athlete.” (More)

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TECH & INFRASTRUCTURE

Europe’s €2.2B Stadium Surge: Clubs Bet on Bricks, Not Just Boots

In 2023, European football clubs invested a record €2.2B (~$2.5B) in infrastructure—marking a definitive pivot from pandemic-era austerity to long-term asset building. According to UEFA, this is the highest figure since it began tracking the metric in 2015.

The big spenders? Real Madrid (€257M) and Everton (€245M) led the way with major stadium projects, while Barcelona (€130M) and PSG (€103M) invested heavily in facilities—from training centers to full-scale venue overhauls.

This infrastructure wave isn’t just about aesthetics. It's balance-sheet strategy: fixed assets with amortizable value, future-proofed revenue streams, and elevated fan and player experiences. For investors, the signal is clear—clubs are deploying capital not on wage inflation, but on long-duration physical assets that can support commercial growth.

Why it matters: As UEFA validates the data, the shift toward bricks and mortar indicates where long-term confidence lies in football’s economics. Clubs are no longer just brands—they're becoming vertically integrated real estate plays. (More)

eSPORTS

eSports Hits the Halfway Mark

Nearly half of Americans (46%) are now engaged with esports in some form—up from 43% in 2022. Viewer growth is also climbing, with 27% of U.S. consumers tuning in and regular engagement jumping from 13% to 19%. What’s fueling the rise? A blend of mainstream distribution, demographic expansion, and a $1.07B domestic market—the largest globally. Esports orgs are no longer just chasing sponsorships—they’re building direct-to-fan engines with merch, memberships, and edu-content. As the audience widens beyond its young male base, the message is clear: eSports is now a pillar, not a niche. (More)

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