The NFL could join every other major U.S. league in allowing institutional investors.

Some owners are interested in seeing the NFL join MLB, the NHL, NBA, MLS, NWSL, and others in allowing private equity firms and sovereign wealth funds to purchase stakes in their teams, according to Bloomberg.

With team values rising, the number of potential buyers and minority owners has dwindled. No major U.S. league allows private firms to own a majority share in a team, but many have found it to be a useful path to liquidate part of a team’s value.

Because firms view teams as investment assets, leagues typically allow individual funds to own pieces of more than one team.

While ownership rules aren’t on the agenda at this week’s NFL owners meeting, some executives are using the event as a chance to build support for the idea, which could be implemented next year.

Fund Founders want Piece of Chargers

Clearlake Capital co-founders Behdad Eghbali and Jose Feliciano are interested in personally buying the 24% stake in the Los Angeles Chargers owned by Dea Spanos Berberian, per Bloomberg.

Clearlake was the main financial backer of Todd Boehly’s purchase of Premier League club Chelsea, and the two were interested in the Denver Broncos, which ultimately sold to Rob Walton for $4.7 billion.

CBS Sports vows it will not play favorites in covering players from the competing PGA Tour and LIV Golf series during its coverage of next week’s 2023 Masters Tournament.

“The Masters Tournament and Augusta National is bigger than any player that has come before, any player that’s around now, and any player that will come in the years ahead,” said CBS’ Trevor Immelman, the 2008 champion who will call his first Masters as lead analyst with Jim Nantz. 

“What we are focused on is giving the tournament justice and crowning a great champion, putting a green jacket on a great champion that Sunday afternoon.”

Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports, promised that while the network won’t treat LIV players differently, it also won’t “cover up or hide” anything. 

This will be the first time PGA and LIV Golf rivals tee it up at Augusta National Golf Club with the coveted Green Jacket at stake.

Led by three-time winner Phil Mickelson (2010, 2006,2004), LIV boasts a number of former Masters champions, including:

• Dustin Johnson (2020)
• Patrick Reed (2018)
• Sergio Garcia (2017)
• Bubba Watson (2014, 2012)

The powerful Augusta National always wants to keep the focus on the players and the beauty of the grounds. 

As CBS director Sellers Shy said: “We’re not cheerleaders here. We just want to cover the golf tournament.” 

Athleisure giant Lululemon reported strong global sales for the fourth quarter and 2022 fiscal year.

The company announced that revenue rose 30% to $2.8 billion for the quarter ending Jan. 29, 2023.

Income from operations decreased 47% to $314.4 million, but adjusted income from operations increased 33% to $785.3 million.

During the quarter, Lululemon opened 32 company-owned stores for a total of 655.

“In the fourth quarter and full year 2022, we delivered strong results across the business driven by our innovative products, powerful guest experiences, and strategic market expansion,” said Calvin McDonald, chief executive of the Vancouver-based company, in a statement.

McDonald added: “Our continued high level of performance is a reflection of the hard work and agility of our incredible teams and the deep connections they create with our guests and communities around the world.”

During fiscal 2022, Lululemon’s net revenue rose 30% to $8.1 billion. Revenue rose 29% in North America and 35% annually, while adjusted income from operations also rose 30% to $1.8 billion.

One caveat: Bloomberg notes that “nagging inventory issues” continue to eat into company margins.

Looking ahead, Lululemon said it anticipates Q1 net revenue to grow 18% to a range of $1.89 billion and $1.93 billion — an outlook that exceeds analyst expectations.

The retailer’s shares rose 7% in after-hours trading Tuesday.

West Ham United is reportedly “open” to the outright purchase of London Stadium, which continues to be a burden to London taxpayers.

The Hammers have called the stadium — initially constructed as the centerpiece for the 2012 Summer Olympics — home since 2016, when the club signed a 99-year lease with the city at $3.1 million per year, which later increased to $4.4 million per year.

However, in 2018 Lyn Garner, CEO of the stadium’s partial owner, the London Legacy Development Corporation, said that West Ham’s rent doesn’t nearly cover the costs of staging matches there and sets the organization up for “losses for the next 97 years.”

Taxpayers largely covered a $397 million renovation of the grounds to convert it into a multipurpose stadium, with West Ham contributing $18.5 million.

Since then, LLDC has been working on nailing down a naming rights deal for the stadium that Garner is “very confident” will happen this year.

LLDC has accounted for $246 million to cover future losses related to the stadium — but that figure is being challenged by auditors and could significantly increase if the city continues to own the stadium.

Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky, who owns a 27% stake in West Ham and has been rumored to be trying for a full takeover, has said he would be open to purchasing London Stadium, according to The Times.