(Bloomberg) -- The San Francisco 49ers reached a deal to sell stakes in the NFL team at a valuation of about $8.5 billion, breaking the record for a sports franchise set in December.
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The club is offloading equity totaling about 6% to three private investors, according to two people familiar with the transaction — each of them are major figures in the world of Silicon Valley venture capital. Billionaire Vinod Khosla is buying the largest stake with the families of Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and Will Griffith, founding partner at Iconiq Growth, also acquiring pieces.
The deal will require approval at one of the NFL’s owners meetings. Bloomberg reported in March that the 49ers were looking to sell a stake.
The 49ers and a spokesperson for Khosla declined to comment.
The three investors buying stakes all high-profile VC names. Khosla, the founder of Khosla Ventures, co-founded Sun Microsystems before launching his investing career, and more recently, became one of the first and largest backers of OpenAI.
Deeter, a 20-year veteran of Bessemer, is a leading investor in cloud technology companies and has served on the board of companies such as Twilio Inc. and ServiceTitan Inc., which recently went public.
Griffith is a leader at Iconiq Growth, Iconiq’s venture and growth investing platform, which last year said it had raised $5.75 billion for its latest fund.
Professional sports team valuations have boomed in recent years because pro clubs have maintained television ratings better than other entertainment, which has boosted revenue from media rights.
The NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles had the previous high, reaching $8.3 billion last year.
Leagues have broadened the pool of potential investors by allowing institutional funds to make investments. In 2024, the NFL became the latest pro league to allow them to buy stakes in teams. That’s drawing more money, including funds started to invest in pro clubs.
Sportico reported the news earlier.
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(Updates with context on tech investors starting the second paragraph.)
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