The New York Giants are shopping “up to 10 percent of the team,” according to sources of Sports Business Journal reporter Ben Fischer.
“The team will not sell a majority stake or cede control, which has rested with current President John Mara or his family since his grandfather, Tim Mara, founded the team in 1925, sources said,” Fischer clarified on February 13.
Continuing: “Since 1991, the Tisch and Mara families have each owned 50% of the club, with a large roster of individual family members holding small stakes. Their precise reason for exploring an LP sale is not known, but the NFL allowed private equity firms to buy up to 10% of teams under a new policy approved last August. The team initially declined to comment, but confirmed the news in a statement after this report was published. Moelis & Co. declined comment.”
Later that night on February 13, ESPN NYG beat reporter Jordan Raanan relayed a more official statement from Giants ownership.
It read: “The Mara and Tisch families have retained Moelis & Company to explore the potential sale of a minority, non-controlling stake in the New York Giants. There will be no further comment in regard to the process.”
Giants Partial Sale Expected to Provide ‘New High-Water Mark’ for Franchise’s Total Valuation
During his article with Sports Business Journal, Fischer noted that this sale is “likely to set a new high-water mark” for the Giants’ overall valuation.
Later, he explained that “in December, the now-Super Bowl champion [Philadelphia] Eagles sold 8% percent to two wealthy families in deals valuing the club at $8.1 billion and $8.3 billion, respectively.”
Fischer also stated that “experts believe the Giants’ valuation will beat those numbers based on the size of the New York City market alone (roughly 19.5 million in NYC versus 6.2 million in Philadelphia).”
Per Sports Business Journal, “recent public estimates” of the Giants’ total value “range from $7.3 billion (Forbes) to $7.85 billion (CNBC).” Although Fischer did point out that Eagles estimates proved to be roughly $1.3-$1.5 billion lower than the franchise’s eventual valuation.
Based on lack of success in recent years, sharing the New York City market with the New York Jets and a private equity firm potentially paying less than the wealthy families that bought shares of the Eagles, Fischer also added that “experts differ on how much higher than the Eagles’ number the Giants could fetch.”
Giants & NFL Community Reacts to NYG Sale: Could Eli Manning Get Involved?
There were various reactions to this news, including that of Raanan, who also weighed in with some more information.
“The Giants have a large roster of individual family members from the Mara and Tisch families holding a small stake in the team,” Raanan said. “Selling a 10% or less portion of the team would be a nice payout for everyone. Nothing would change in regards to control of the team. Will be interesting to see if Eli Manning gets involved in an ownership group. Would imagine a lot of wealthy and notable individuals will have interest.”
The Athletic’s Dan Duggan agreed that Manning is a name to watch when it comes to this process.
Reacting: “The Mara and Tisch families are going to get a ton of cash. Nothing will change with how the franchise is run. The door is open for Eli [Manning] to get involved if he’s serious about having interest in an ownership stake.”
And Duggan’s colleague Charlotte Carroll reminded everyone of a Manning quote from earlier this year.
“Eli Manning said this when asked about it last month. He hadn’t spoken to either family: ‘That’s a big number,’ Manning said with a laugh. ‘I don’t know if there’s any reality to it. Would it be fun and interesting? Yes, but we’ll see how it all plays out.’”
Finally, sports business expert Andrew Brandt commented on the sale news, writing: “Translation: They will give someone some good seats and a parking pass, and collect roughly $750 million.”
