New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft will speak to the Gillette Stadium media to announce the employment of the team’s head coach Jerod Mayo.
Eric Canha | usatoday |Reuters
Robert Craft, who paid $172 million to the New England Patriots in 1994, agreed to sell 8% of the NFL team to two groups in a deal valued at $9 billion, although he has first-hand knowledge of the transaction but is not allowed to speak publicly about it.
The money the team gets from selling 8% of their stake will remain on the Patriot balance sheet, according to one person close to the situation. In other words, the post-money valuation of Patriots is over $9 billion.
The sale does not include the New England Revolution, a major league soccer team owned by the Kraft family, according to sources close to the contract.
The buyer is a partner on 6th Avenue, with around 3% and Dean Metropoulos at around 5%, according to people with first-hand knowledge of the deal that they are not allowed to talk about. Metropoulos is listed by Forbes as having a net worth of $4.1 billion.
Patriot minority share sales must continue to be approved by the NFL’s Financial Committee.
Two other minority share sales are expected to be voted by the league’s finance committee in October. First, according to the NFL owners, the New York giant will sell a 10% sale to Julia Koch, giving the team a $10.3 billion valuation. Sports Business Journal also reported that it voted for Pete Briger Jr., chairman of the investment group on the 3.2% sale of San Francisco 49ers, at a $8.6 billion valuation.
A few days ago, a 2.35% stake in the Chicago Bears changed hands at a $8.9 billion valuation.
The Patriot also owned Gillette Stadium, which opened in 2002 and was renovated in 2023 at a cost of $250 million. Last season, the Patriots raked $118 million on the league’s 11th-highest ticket receipt, according to internal NFL documents obtained by CNBC.
Earlier this month, CNBC valued the Patriots at $9.25 billion, fifth of the league’s 32 teams. The Patriots won six Super Bowls. All under craft ownership, it is tied with the most Pittsburgh Steelers in football.
Modification: Sixth Street Partners is purchasing a portion of the Patriot minority shareholders in New England. The buyer’s name was misunderstood in an earlier version of this article.
