The NBA, NHL and WNBA are on the precipice of being the first North American professional sports leagues to receive an investment from a sovereign wealth fund. The Qatari Investment Authority, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, is close to buying a stake in Monumental Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals, and Washington Mystics, sources briefed on the deal told The Athletic.
It’s a small stake, according to a person briefed on the matter. The deal valued Monumental at roughly $4 billion. Monumental’s portfolio also includes Capital One Arena and its new RSN, Monumental Sports Network.
“In November 2022, the NBA Board of Governors decided to permit passive, non-controlling, minority investments in NBA teams by institutional investors, including university endowments, foreign and domestic pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds, subject to a set of policy guidelines adopted at that time,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said in a statement to The Athletic. “All such investments require league review, NBA Board approval and compliance with the policy.
“The NBA Board is currently reviewing a potential investment by QIA in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of the Washington Wizards, among other sports properties. In accordance with the policy, if approved, QIA would have a passive, minority investment in the team, with no involvement in its operations or decision-making.”
Monumental Sports and Entertainment declined to comment to The Athletic.
This would be the first time there is a direct investment into a team in the leagues by a wealth fund representing the government of another country.
The NBA changed its rules late last year to allow sovereign wealth funds to be able to buy into its teams, expanding the types of investors that can do so, after opening the doors to private equity firms in 2020. Those funds can not own more than 20 percent of a team, and for sovereign wealth funds, only one fund is allowed to buy into an NBA team per country and only own shares in one team, according to a source with knowledge of the league’s bylaws on that issue.
The WNBA follows the same rules regarding sovereign wealth fund investments as the NBA.
The NHL has never precluded investment by a sovereign wealth fund, a high-ranking NHL source told The Athletic. All that is required is approval from the league’s board of governors. Additionally, the fund can not exceed a 20 percent stake in a team. The NHL’s executive committee of the board of governors has already approved the sale.
The changes were seen as a way for the leagues to continue to increase the value of their teams. Valuations have skyrocketed over the last decade, especially for NBA teams. The Phoenix Suns were sold in February at a $4 billion valuation. A 25 percent stake in the Milwaukee Bucks was sold at a $3.5 billion valuation in April.
Commissioner Adam Silver spoke last Thursday about his thinking on state investment into sports during an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” when he was asked about the financial agreement between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian-owned Public Investment Fund, which includes a merger of the Tour and the PIF-owned LIV Golf.
“When the Saudis invest in sports, it gets outsized attention,” Silver said in response to a question about the merger. “Now, I don’t want to complain about that because we want to get outsized attention. On the other hand, somebody could go down the list there. They are investors in some of our largest American corporations. Some of the most well-known brands have investments from them. And I also think it’s a two-edged sword.
“I hear the comments about sportswashing. On the other hand, you’re talking about it, others are talking about it. … In the same way, the World Cup — the football World Cup, soccer World Cup — brought enormous attention to Qatar. I think people learn about these countries, learn about what’s happening in the world in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. So I think the media does its job.
“But … now talking specifically about the NBA, where we’re such a global sport, I think people are a little too dismissive these days about the benefits that come from the commonality around sports. That with a sport like basketball — our finals are distributed virtually everywhere in the world, the sport is played everywhere in the world — it’s an opportunity to bring people together.”
Qatar has been heavily involved in sports over the last decade. In 2012, another Qatari fund, Qatar Sports Investments, bought Paris Saint-Germain, a French soccer club that it has built into a powerhouse. Last year, QSI bought a stake in SC Braga, a Portuguese soccer team. In January, the Financial Times reported that there was interest in buying an English Premier League team.
The 2022 World Cup was held in Qatar last winter. The competition was run amidst controversy as FIFA held the event in a country with prominent human rights issues, where homosexuality is illegal, and in which migrant labor was used to build its stadium. At least 500 workers have died since 2014 in accidents at construction sites for the World Cup.
Monumental Sports is run by Ted Leonsis, who has owned the Capitals since 1999 and the Wizards, and their shared arena, since 2010. Leonsis reportedly pushed for the NBA to let sovereign wealth funds buy stakes in its teams, according to Sportico.
The Wizards have been beset by mediocrity for decades and recently underwent a leadership change, with Michael Winger hired as the new president of Monumental basketball and Will Dawkins as the new Wizards general manager.
The Capitals won a Stanley Cup championship in 2018, led by star Alexander Ovechkin. They missed the playoffs this season and are in the midst of a rebuild.
The Mystics, led by two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne, have made the playoffs five of the past six seasons and won the league’s title in 2019.
(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)
