Ever dreamed of owning a slice of a pro sports team? Your investment won’t help you get game seats in the owner’s box, but your portfolio will thank you. Most big-league baseball, basketball, football and hockey teams are privately owned, but the few that are publicly traded offer strong business fundamentals and multiple catalysts to see their value and stock prices rise. These catalysts include…

Broadcast rights to live sports. In today’s consumer media world, where everything is “on-demand,” sports remain a lucrative anomaly. They still attract massive live audiences, a big draw for advertisers.

Takeover potential. Teams are garnering record prices because billionaires and private equity firms are willing to pay up for these trophy assets. In the past few years, the New York Mets sold for $2.4 billion…the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury basketball teams,
$4 billion as a package.

Two attractive professional-sports stocks now…

Liberty Braves Group (BATRK) is a tracking stock representing ownership of Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and the real estate surrounding the team’s ballpark. A potential deal for the Braves could prove to be superior to the one for the New York Mets, who generate far less revenue per game. 

Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) owns the New York Knicks and New York Rangers. It suffers from the “Dolan Discount”—investors are not confident that James Dolan can run a company or unlock shareholder value over time. One big plus: The new NBA TV contract after the 2024-25 season could pay teams $8 billion annually, up from the current $2.6 billion.

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