Every other U.S. major league has done it. There is a need for it. But the NFL is in no rush to approve private equity ownership in teams, pushing back a vote that last year many thought would take place this week to now possibly October.

NFL owners still are studying the right type of investors as the universe of institutional money is larger than just private equity, says an NFL official. Questions about how private equity firms, or others, would exit their investment in the teams is also a question, as to date there has been only one exit among the dozens of such investments in NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS teams, this official says. That was Dyal HomeCourt and the Suns, which were bought last year by Mat Ishbia. What the maximum percentage of investment would be allowed is undecided (the top percent in the other leagues is 20%). There are even questions about which level of vetting the secretive funds would tolerate to meet the NFL’s probing requirements.

“Well, I believe our ownership policies are really important,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (above) told reporters Tuesday. “I know our ownership does, too. We had a report on it yesterday and a lengthy discussion about it. I think the committee has worked incredibly hard. And they’ve been very deliberate in the way they’ve evaluated the different alternatives. We’re making progress. I think there’ll be some changes, maybe as early as May, probably closer to October.”

That committee is a special ownership one, which Goodell formed in October 2023. Questioned about his comments then that a decision could come by the recently concluded annual meeting, Goodell said the committee is close.

“They came very close to sort of outlining an approach,” he said. “And the approach is something that we want to make sure [we are] aligned with, but I think that’s true. Now we have a lot of work to do to take that approach into reality. So I feel very comfortable with the timing. I feel zero pressure. I don’t think our committee does nor our membership. So we’ll continue to go through that process and come to the best conclusion, regardless of the time.”

Soaring Franchise Values

Rising franchise values and tight debt rules have created a limited pool of buyers who can afford an NFL team. The Commanders sold for $6.05 billion last year, and owner Josh Harris struggled to make the deal work. Also, as heirs to teams face steep estate taxes, private equity investment could play a role in raising funds to pay the IRS bill.

Speaking of investments, Goodell said on the status of Tom Brady’s effort to invest in the Raiders, “We go through a very thorough process on all of the transfers. So we are just going through that process, we’ve been in touch with the Raiders. I think it’s making progress.”

Initially Brady received a discount for his agreement to buy a small slice of the team, which generated pushback from owners. His pending role as a Fox NFL broadcaster also has been cited as a possible hurdle.

Could two of the NFL’s most iconic locales—Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium and the Cleveland lakefront—be abandoned in search of other stadium sites? That’s the potential situation now developing as both the Chiefs and Browns look to solidify their venue futures.

The Chiefs have been at Arrowhead Stadium (above) since 1972, and the Browns have played on the shore of Lake Erie since ’46, with the exception of the three years in the ’90s between the two versions of the franchise. But amid continued uncertainty in both cities regarding planned stadium projects, the Chiefs and Browns are increasingly evaluating other options. 

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs are on an April 2 ballot in Jackson County, Missouri, along with MLB’s neighboring Royals (above, background). The pair of teams are seeking to implement a ⅜-cent sales tax for 40 years, with that money targeted toward a planned new Royals ballpark and renovations to Arrowhead Stadium. That measure reached a ballot after the county legislature overrode a veto from county executive Frank White.

But White has continued to speak out against the possible tax extension, recently saying “taxpayers are being asked to pay more than $2 billion over 40 years to private businesses that … have not been transparent with their projects or plans.” That prompted the teams’ most overt threat to look at other locales should the vote fail, amplifying other similar comments made recently. 

“If April 2 results in a ‘no’ vote for the Chiefs and Royals, we will explore all options for where we will play come 2031,” the teams said in an open letter to the Jackson County legislature that was particularly critical of White. 

Given how strong a performer the Chiefs particularly are, both on and off the field, it’s seemingly unthinkable the team would leave the Kansas City area altogether. As such, it’s likely that initial fallback options could include nearby jurisdictions such as Clay County, Missouri—where the Royals previously considered building—or Johnson County, Kansas. 

Who Is Frank White?

Some baseball fans will recognize this name, as the Jackson County executive moved into politics a decade ago after a previous career in MLB. He earned a place in the Royals’ hall of fame as a star second baseman and fixture on the 1985 World Series champion team and six other division-winning squads. White also had prior stints as a Royals coach, front office executive, and broadcaster. 

But White has been estranged from the Royals for many years, with bad feelings first developing in the early 2000s following a cut of his salary, being passed over for the team’s managerial job, and then when he was pushed out of the team’s broadcast booth, reportedly due to his harsh criticism of poor-performing Royals teams. 

A New Dawg Pound?

Last year, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam said he was committed to staying in downtown Cleveland and renovating Cleveland Browns Stadium. Now, that sentiment has changed, as the team is also actively considering building a $2 billion domed facility in suburban Brook Park, Ohio, where Haslam and his wife, Dee, have an option to buy 176 acres of land. Brook Park is near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The Haslams insist the new consideration is not a negotiating ploy to extract taxpayer dollars for a $1 billion downtown renovation, and that neither option is currently favored over the other.

“We’re looking at both options. Not one option is above the other,” Dee Haslam said. “But I do think Cleveland deserves to be thought of as this evolving, forward-thinking creative city as opposed to not thinking big.”

Similar to the Bears’ efforts in Chicago, building a domed stadium would open up Cleveland to bid for hosting large-scale indoor events (Super Bowl, Final Four, and College Football Playoff, for example) that it currently cannot.