New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft speaks to media at Gillette Stadium to announce the team’s hiring of head coach Jerod Mayo.<\/p>\n
Eric Canha | USAToday | Reuters<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The minority stake sale of the Patriots must still be approved by the NFL’s finance committee.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Several days ago, a 2.35% stake of the Chicago Bears<\/a> changed hands at a valuation of $8.9 billion.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, last season the Patriots raked in $118 million in ticket receipts, 11th-highest in the league.<\/p>\n