Former longtime Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph is all for private equity in the NFL, telling Front Office Sports the new source of capital provides teams with more financial flexibility, particularly when it comes to paying players.
Four NFL teams have taken on private-equity investors since the league approved limited PE ownership in the summer of 2024. Today, Sixth Street Partners has a 3% stake in the Patriots, Arctos Partners owns 10% stakes in the Bills and Chargers, and Ares Management holds a 10% stake in the Dolphins. The NFL has slow-walked its embrace of PE by permitting only a select group of firms to invest: In addition to the above trio, there’s an approved consortium consisting of Carlyle Group, Dynasty Equity, and Ludis, the latter of which was founded and is led by Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin.
Although the league hasn’t committed to approving additional firms, experts expect more PE players will get the green light to invest in NFL teams before long. And while the NFL isn’t a sure bet for private equity, Rudolph says private equity is a “great” bet for the NFL.
“I think it’s great,” he said during a recent interview at FOS headquarters in New York City. “Obviously, you have to crawl before you can walk, and you have to walk before you can run.”
