{"id":220909,"date":"2025-10-17T19:17:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T19:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/220909\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T19:17:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T19:17:08","slug":"asset-class-team-owners-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/220909\/","title":{"rendered":"Asset Class: Team Owners Speak"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Front<\/a><\/p>\n

Asset Class came to life Thursday at the New York Stock Exchange, where Front Office Sports convened Islanders owner Jon Ledecky, 76ers and Devils co-owner David Adelman, former Knicks president Dave Checketts, and more. This edition recaps the stand-out moments, from never-before-heard stories of the 1990s NBA to Ledecky fielding calls from crypto bros eager to buy into his team.<\/p>\n

\u2014Ben Horney<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nicole Pereira Photography<\/p>\n

Before Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, the Knicks were accused of circumventing the salary cap to sign center Herb Williams to back up Patrick Ewing in the 1990s. Back then, New York survived the investigation unscathed.<\/p>\n

As the NBA season draws near, the allegation that Clippers<\/a> owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the salary cap<\/a> in order to pay Leonard<\/a> more than he was allowed has dominated headlines. The claim, first reported by journalist Pablo Torre, is that there were shady dealings through a $28 million \u201cno-show\u201d endorsement deal with green-banking company Aspiration, a former team sponsor that is now bankrupt. Commissioner Adam Silver has tapped law firm Wachtell Lipton to lead an investigation, which may take months.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The allegations echo past NBA cap controversies. Punishments can range depending on the severity of the infraction, and can include fines, loss of draft picks, and even voiding of player contracts. Perhaps the most notable example happened in October 2000<\/a>, when the Timberwolves lost five first-round picks and were fined $3.5 million for reaching a deal with forward Joe Smith to circumvent the salary cap.<\/p>\n

In 1993, Silver\u2019s predecessor, the late David Stern, felt certain he had caught the Knicks\u2014and team president Dave Checketts\u2014circumventing the cap when they signed Williams to a one-year deal worth around $1.5 million<\/a>. That was roughly three times his previous salary under the two-year contract<\/a> he\u2019d signed with the Knicks that included a player option to opt out.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmediately when we announced it, David Stern called me,\u201d Checketts said Thursday<\/a> at the inaugural Front Office Sports Asset Class summit in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll leave the expletives out, [but] he said, \u2018I\u2019m gonna haul you in for this. Everybody knows what you just did. You circumvented the cap \u2026 you didn\u2019t even try to hide it,\u2019\u201d Checketts said.<\/p>\n

Checketts admits the Knicks valued Williams highly, and that when he signed the first contract, the team didn\u2019t have the cap space to pay Williams his market value of more than $1 million a year. So they signed him to a two-year deal worth somewhere around $400,000 annually, with an opt-out clause.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Williams exercised the option, the Knicks promptly signed him for roughly $1.5 million for Year 2\u2014enough to satisfy both player and team, but enough to catch David Stern\u2019s attention. From Day 1, Checketts maintained innocence.<\/p>\n

Before Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, the Knicks were accused of circumventing the salary cap to sign Herb Williams in the 1990s.<\/p>\n

Former Knicks president Dave Checketts tells the story of what really happened.<\/p>\n

Presented by @Dealmakertech<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/s2WlpoRL5e<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Front Office Sports (@FOS) October 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI said, \u2018I have nothing to hide,\u2019\u201d Checketts remembers. \u201cHe said, \u2018We\u2019re gonna investigate you, so get ready.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Stern hired a retired District Court judge and a \u201cvery tough\u201d lawyer, who came in and interviewed Checketts, the team\u2019s general manager Ernie Grunfeld, and head coach Pat Riley.<\/p>\n

Checketts says he told the investigators \u201cthe New York Knicks take care of their players,\u201d and that they wouldn\u2019t find anything, \u201cwritten or verbal,\u201d proving any funny business.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the judge had to go back to Stern and say \u201c\u2018we\u2019ve got nothing,\u2019\u201d Checketts said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess that was circumventing the cap in Stern\u2019s world,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this story in L.A. is a completely different number, a completely different story.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nicole Pereira Photography<\/p>\n

Experts agree that college sports will start receiving major infusions of private capital, but while the opportunity is massive, the challenges are just as big.<\/p>\n

The sentiment that college sports is on the precipice of entering into private-capital deals was shared by speakers across multiple panels at the inaugural Front Office Sports Asset Class summit in New York. The idea should come as no surprise. For weeks, there\u2019s been a drip-drop of reporting about a potential private-capital deal for the Big Ten, although University of Michigan board members are opposed<\/a>. Meanwhile, the Big 12 explored potential private-equity deals earlier this year, although for now that conference has hit the brakes.<\/a><\/p>\n

According to Jason Belzer of Sequence Equity, \u201cCollege sports is the next frontier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this Big Ten [deal] happens, it\u2019s gonna open up the floodgates,\u201d he said at the summit. \u201cBut I think the floodgates are gonna open up regardless.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because there are numerous schools and conferences that \u201crealize they need help,\u201d and a ton of private capital \u201cwaiting on the sidelines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During Belzer\u2019s panel, all three participants\u2014Belzer, Kevin LaForce of RedBird Capital Partners, and DealMaker cofounder and CEO Rebecca Kacaba\u2014picked college sports as their \u201chot buy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, despite the fact that both sides want it to happen, it\u2019s been slow going. Not only that, but the narrative has shifted. At first, the idea was that there would be private-equity investments into college sports, but the word \u201cequity\u201d has recently been taken out of the equation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to joke, \u2018Private credit is entering the chat,\u2019\u201d Kim Smith, chief capital formation officer at Andalusian Credit Partners, said during a different panel.<\/p>\n

Experts agree that private-credit deals\u2014which wouldn\u2019t involve the capital provider taking an equity stake in the school or conference\u2014are the cleanest way for private capital to enter college sports. Such deals are structured as loans, with investors providing financing, collecting interest, and getting repaid. The arrangements tend to carry less risk and fewer restrictions than equity, although returns are not as compelling, since lenders don\u2019t share as much in the big upside of college sports\u2019 commercial growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe potential to lend to these universities, there\u2019s tremendous opportunity for college sports, and even more so for the athletes,\u201d Smith said, alluding to NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals her firm has been exploring.<\/p>\n

Any infusion of private capital comes with risk, however, and there are sensitivities about academic institutions getting into bed with firms. When it comes to deals involving conferences, as opposed to individual schools, several factors can slow down the process. With the Big Ten, for example, there are schools at the top tier, like Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan, which are \u201crevenue-producing entities\u201d that don\u2019t necessarily need capital infusions, while on the other end of the spectrum, the Big Ten includes Rutgers, Maryland, and Purdue, all of which could use the money, Belzer said.<\/p>\n

For schools like Ohio State and Michigan, \u201cit\u2019s like the Dallas Cowboys taking on money. What are they gonna do with it?\u201d Belzer said.<\/p>\n

While questions remain, the theme was clear: Private capital is coming for college sports. It\u2019s just a matter of when, and how.<\/p>\n

Veteran sports executive Dave Checketts, who is trying to raise $1.2 billion<\/a> for a new fund focused on sports, said during one of the other panels that college sports is among the primary areas he wants to be in. He expects that a deal of some kind will get done with the Big Ten, although he acknowledged that \u201cwhat\u2019s happening in college sports is complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect that we\u2019ll be in college sports,\u201d Checketts said. \u201cIt\u2019s too big of an opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Editors\u2019 note: RedBird IMI, in which RedBird Capital Partners is a joint venture partner, is the primary investor in Front Office Sports.<\/p>\n


\n\"Jon
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing is the CBA and to have labor peace. \u2026 What you\u2019re seeing now in the WNBA, spilling into the public view, is no bueno. It\u2019s not a good idea<\/a>.\u201d
\u2014Jonathan Ledecky, Islanders co-owner\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy sports team valuations have gone up so much I ascribe to the fact that there are 400 to 500 billionaires a year being minted in the United States; one only has to look at the AI uplift right now and the crypto bros. Every week my phone rings with, \u2018Hey, I\u2019d like to buy your team.\u2019 And these guys and gals are in their 20s and 30s. I go, \u2018That\u2019s really interesting.\u2019 \u2018Yeah, I just crushed it on crypto, I\u2019m worth two and a half billion dollars, but nobody knows who I am. So I figured if I buy into a sports team, people will know I\u2019m rich.\u2019 That\u2019s basically how the conversation goes. \u2026 That\u2019s why asset prices are going up.\u201d
\u2014Jonathan Ledecky<\/p>\n

\u201cCollege is something like we\u2019ve never seen before. I think it\u2019s a story that\u2019s going to be playing out for the foreseeable future, not the next two or three years, so if you\u2019re investing in college, you\u2019re going to have to be patient. But it is extraordinarily exciting.\u201d
\u2014Kevin LaForce, RedBird Capital Partners managing director<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d be a janitor for the Savannah Bananas. It\u2019ll be a $100 billion franchise. \u2026 I would literally go work there.\u201d
\u2014Greg Bettinelli, The Chernin Group partner<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a dad out there, watch women\u2019s sports with your daughter. Get them tuned in. Show them that you care, and then they\u2019ll go and watch women\u2019s sports in the Olympics.\u201d
\u2014Kristen Faulkner, two-time Olympic gold medal cyclist \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat percent of Valkyries season-ticket holders do you think are Golden State Warriors ticket holders? It\u2019s four percent. And they\u2019ve sold out every game and just crushed it. \u2026 We see something similar in Philadelphia. There\u2019s just been this great rising movement, the support we\u2019ve had as a city when we went after [a WNBA expansion team] was really remarkable.\u201d
\u2014David Adelman, 76ers, Devils co-owner\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd by the way, the Valkyries\u2019 gate is higher than ten NBA teams.\u201d
\u2014Dave Checketts, former Knicks, Jazz president<\/p>\n


\n\"Adelson\"\/
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

David Adelman, part-owner of the 76ers and Devils, is adding a new sport to his portfolio: pro Wiffle ball. He said during Thursday\u2019s Asset Class summit that he\u2019ll own the Philadelphia team that\u2019s part of the league unveiled earlier this week<\/a> by Gary Vaynerchuk. The league, which Adelman described as \u201cbite-sized affordable,\u201d will begin with tournaments around the U.S.
\nPresident Donald Trump\u2019s golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, posted a full-year loss of $1.26 million (\u00a3937,693), marking its 13th straight year of losses<\/a>\u2014although it was less than last year\u2019s loss of $1.92 million (\u00a31.43 million). The property, which Trump acquired in 2006<\/a>, did increase revenue, from $5.04 million (\u00a33.75 million) in 2023 to $6.02 million (\u00a34.48 million) last year.
\nJazz forward Kevin Love is investing<\/a> in Shift Naturals, which makes hemp-infused drinks and gummies. He\u2019s investing alongside consumer-focused investor \u201ccommunity\u201d The Angel Group<\/a>, whose portfolio also includes Garage Beer\u2014the light-beer company co-owned by Travis and Jason Kelce that was recently valued at about $200 million<\/a>.
\nFlorida-based Xude Hospitality has acquired<\/a> Sanibel Island Golf Club and is planning an extensive renovation. The club, located off the southwest coast of Florida, features a 6,400-yard course. Xude owns more than 50 clubs<\/a> across multiple stakes, including Arizona, Colorado, and California.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The buy-in price for the league will more than triple. <\/a>Campbell said the concept goes against \u201call the laws of finance.\u201d<\/p>\n

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