Player Investment in Teams: The Future of Athlete Ownership?
By Daniel Geey, Alex Harvey and Harry Marlow
Athletes are no longer just the talent on the field; they are becoming power players off it. Increasingly, elite athletes are leveraging their wealth and influence to secure ownership stakes in sports teams, reshaping the traditional dynamics of club ownership.
Historically, league rules restricted players from investing in the leagues and teams they competed in. However, this is changing, particularly in the U.S., where the NBA has begun allowing players to hold equity in teams under specific conditions. The question now is whether this transformation will cross the Atlantic and reshape football ownership.
Athlete Investments: The Rise of the Player-Owner
LeBron James and Tom Brady, two of the most recognizable athletes of the modern era, have already cemented their place in the sports investment sphere.
Brady currently owns a 3.3% stake in Birmingham City, is a minority investor in the Las Vegas Raiders, and most recently bought into the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces. Meanwhile, LeBron’s ownership journey began in 2011, when he acquired a 2% stake in Fenway Sports Group (FSG). A decade later, RedBird Capital purchased a 10% stake in FSG for $750 million—while also investing in LeBron’s production company. Reports suggest that in 2022, LeBron partnered with RedBird again to acquire Serie A club AC Milan.
Other elite athletes have followed suit. Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, along with Rory McIlroy, Anthony Joshua, Patrick Mahomes, and Travis Kelce, invested in F1 team Alpine through Otro Capital. Meanwhile, F1 legend Lewis Hamilton became a minority shareholder in the Denver Broncos, reinforcing the growing trend of cross-sport investments.
Even retired stars have stepped into ownership roles. David Beckham has played a pivotal role in Inter Miami, Zlatan Ibrahimović took a stake in Hammarby (Sweden), and Brazilian legend Ronaldo invested in Real Valladolid (Spain) and Cruzeiro (Brazil).
But what happens when athletes want to invest not just in sports—but in their own sport?
Footballers Investing in Football: The Next Evolution?
Traditionally, given the integrity concerns, players investing in football clubs faced significant regulatory roadblocks. Yet, recent deals suggest that footballers are beginning to test these boundaries.
Some examples include:
Héctor Bellerín invested in Forest Green Rovers in 2020 while still playing for Arsenal, requiring regulatory approval due to a potential cup competition clash.
Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach, retired USWNT legends, hold stakes in NWSL team Angel City FC, sidestepping integrity concerns since they no longer play.
Wilfried Zaha and UK musician Stormzy purchased a stake in AFC Croydon, a club far below the Premier League, avoiding direct conflicts.
Kylian Mbappé became the majority owner of Ligue 2 side Caen, though the risk of him facing them in competition is minimal unless a UEFA competition match-up arises.
While these examples don’t present direct integrity risks, the broader concern remains: Can a player invest in a club they might one day play against?
It would be seen as a significant conflict if a player had a stake in a club which they were playing against. The risk, or perceived risk, is that they could (directly or indirectly) influence the outcome of a game. Substantive examples could include giving away a foul or penalty, receiving a red card, or even scoring an own goal. Yet, the conversation is shifting. If structured correctly, could players be allowed to invest in clubs or even leagues without compromising integrity?
The Integrity Question: Where is the Line?
Football’s strict competition rules are designed to prevent conflicts of interest. For example, a single owner cannot control two clubs in the same league due to the potential for unfair advantages. Consider this scenario:
If an investor owned both Liverpool and Norwich, and Norwich needed a win to avoid relegation, could the owner instruct Liverpool to field a weaker team?
If two clubs under the same ownership were drawn against each other in the Champions League, could one side be encouraged to lose?
These concerns aren’t hypothetical—they’ve shaped landmark legal cases. The ENIC case before CAS in 1999 set a precedent, prohibiting clubs with the same controlling ownership from competing in the same UEFA tournament. More recently, in 2024, the ownership structures of Nice (INEOS) and Girona (City Football Group) were placed in blind trusts to comply with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rule.
But what about player investment? Could an Arsenal men’s player invest in Arsenal Men, Arsenal Women or another Premier League or WSL club without breaching competition rules?
This is where the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) provides the potential framework.
The NBA’s Model: A Blueprint for Football?
In 2023, the NBA introduced groundbreaking changes to its CBA, allowing players to invest in NBA and WNBA teams—but with strict limitations. Key provisions include:
NBA players cannot hold direct or indirect ownership in an NBA team unless through an approved investment fund.
Players may own less than 1% of a publicly traded company that owns an NBA team.
The NBA Players Association (NBAPA) can invest in private equity funds that acquire passive, non-voting stakes in NBA teams (with a cap of 5% of committed capital).
NBA players can invest in WNBA teams, provided the team is not owned by an NBA owner or their family.
A single NBA player cannot own more than 4% of a WNBA team, and collectively, NBA players cannot hold more than 8%.
These safeguards ensure that while players can benefit from growing franchise valuations, they cannot influence team operations in a way that would compromise competition integrity. Could football adopt a similar system?
Would a top footballer be willing to forgo cash in exchange for equity in a club or league? In theory, a player like Bukayo Saka could negotiate a deal where, instead of a higher wage, he receives a small stake in Arsenal Women or a holding company like Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), which also owns U.S. teams like the Rams, Nuggets and Rapids.
Bootroom to Boardroom
While that might seem ambitious today, it wasn’t long ago that player ownership of teams across the sporting landscape was unthinkable. With soaring club valuations and growing athlete financial literacy, it may only be a matter of time before players aren’t just competing for trophies—but for boardroom influence, too.