I have always loved sports, playing tennis and cricket when I was growing up, before transitioning to fan status, cheering for my favored teams from the sidelines. I also like finance, perhaps not as much as sports, but there are winners and losers in the investment game as well. Thus, it should come as no surprise that when the two connect, as is the case when teams are bought and sold, or players are signed, I am doubly interested. The time is ripe now to talk about how professional sports, in its many variations around the world, has blown a financial gasket, as you see teams sold for prices that seem out of sync with their financial fundamentals and players signed on contracts that equate to the GDP of a small country. In this post, that is my objective, and if get sidetracked, as a sports fans, I apologize in advance.
As a absolute non sports fan, this was still interesting bc you and your analysis are interesting regardless of topic. A little surprised you didn’t mention any of the antics of F-1 team’s owners tho. 🤯
First and foremost, I wanted to say that it's an honor to get in touch with you, even if through a public platform like Substack!
I've been following your work for some time, largely because I previously worked at Goldman Sachs Brazil. However, I currently work at a consulting firm for soccer clubs in Brazil called Outfield, and with the recent movement that has been taking place in Brazil in recent years, driven by the SAF Law (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol), I have been doing many valuations of Brazilian clubs.
Also due to this, we recently developed a study, in collaboration with Consultoria Convocados, about global sports investors (like the American leagues), to indicate that it is possible to make money investing in sports.
It would be an honor and a privilege to speak with you, even if only for 10 minutes, about our work. If you have any interest in our study or even just in having a chat, please contact me here or via email: pedropaiva@outfieldinc.com
I sincerely appreciate your attention and would like to stress once again how much I admire your work and purpose!
Great read! It's interesting that expansion fees in MLS have surpassed many EPL teams' price tags. I wonder how much of that is due to the single-entity status of the league or the guarantee of never being demoted.
Although my dream would be to own an American soccer team, I think if I had that kind of money I may gamble on a Major League Cricket instead. Single-entity, just getting started, and second most popular sport in the world playing in the largest sports market. It's worth a gamble for billionaires.
As a absolute non sports fan, this was still interesting bc you and your analysis are interesting regardless of topic. A little surprised you didn’t mention any of the antics of F-1 team’s owners tho. 🤯
Formula 1 quite a case indeed ;)
Great write up, thank you!
Hello Professor Damodaran,
First and foremost, I wanted to say that it's an honor to get in touch with you, even if through a public platform like Substack!
I've been following your work for some time, largely because I previously worked at Goldman Sachs Brazil. However, I currently work at a consulting firm for soccer clubs in Brazil called Outfield, and with the recent movement that has been taking place in Brazil in recent years, driven by the SAF Law (Sociedade Anônima do Futebol), I have been doing many valuations of Brazilian clubs.
Also due to this, we recently developed a study, in collaboration with Consultoria Convocados, about global sports investors (like the American leagues), to indicate that it is possible to make money investing in sports.
It would be an honor and a privilege to speak with you, even if only for 10 minutes, about our work. If you have any interest in our study or even just in having a chat, please contact me here or via email: pedropaiva@outfieldinc.com
I sincerely appreciate your attention and would like to stress once again how much I admire your work and purpose!
Warm regards,
Pedro Paiva
Great read! It's interesting that expansion fees in MLS have surpassed many EPL teams' price tags. I wonder how much of that is due to the single-entity status of the league or the guarantee of never being demoted.
Although my dream would be to own an American soccer team, I think if I had that kind of money I may gamble on a Major League Cricket instead. Single-entity, just getting started, and second most popular sport in the world playing in the largest sports market. It's worth a gamble for billionaires.