Robert Kraft and his family have owned 100% of the New England Patriots since he first purchased the team for $172 million in 1994.
Since then, the organization has blossomed into one of the most successful and valuable franchises in the world of sports, winning six Super Bowl titles and amassing an estimated valuation of around $9 billion.
Kraft now plans to sell a minority share of his team, as it was reported Sixth Street investment firm has a deal in place to purchase 3% of the Patriots from Kraft.
This move, taking place under the NFL’s new private equity policy, is part of a larger plan to divest a total 8% of the franchise.
Dean Metropoulos, principal of the Metropoulus & Co. investment firm, is the buyer of the other 5%, according to Ben Fischer of the Sports Business Journal.
Both of these deals are pending approval from NFL owners, who will decide in a vote at their regularly scheduled meetings on Oct. 21-22. According to Fischer, it’s “highly unlikely” that NFL owners reject this move at this point in the league’s vetting process.
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Kraft has seemingly had this plan in motion since the NFL approved its new private equity policy in 2024.
“We’ve come up with a program that both satisfies the needs of the private equity firms but also supports the culture that we want to keep going,” Kraft said in an interview with Forbes. “A win-win all around. I never thought I would sell anything out, but I’m considering it.”
Sixth Street already has investments in the NBA’s Boston Celtics, MLB’s San Francisco Giants and NWSL’s Bay FC. The investment firm dove into the sports world in 2021, acquiring 51% of a hospitality and consulting agency co-owned by the Dallas Cowboys and New York Yankees.
Kraft has no intentions to give up control of the team.
The 1-2 Patriots will matchup against the Carolina Panthers in a Week 4 matchup on Sunday.