Adaptation of Forbes – What Are Sports Investors Bullish And Bearish On In 2025? / By Mark J. Burns
The 2025 Sports Investment Landscape: Where Smart Capital is Flowing in the Evolving Sports Ecosystem
Key Takeaways:
- Creator-driven sports properties and leagues are emerging as prime investment targets due to built-in audiences and accelerated growth trajectories
- Women’s sports continue their upward momentum, with projected global revenue reaching $2.35 billion in 2025
- Youth sports investments are focusing on technology integration and differentiated experiences, particularly in team-based activities
- Soccer investment is surging ahead of the 2026 North American World Cup, creating opportunities across the entire ecosystem
- Investors are cautious about legacy ticketing platforms, private equity in college sports, and regional media rights models
Introduction: The Shifting Dynamics of Sports Capital Allocation
The sports investment landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation driven by evolving consumer behaviors, technological innovation, and shifting media consumption patterns. As traditional revenue models face disruption and new opportunities emerge, capital allocation strategies within the sports ecosystem require increasingly sophisticated analysis.
This comprehensive review of 2025 sports investment trends synthesizes insights from leading venture capitalists, private equity professionals, and industry advisors to identify where smart money is flowing—and retreating—in today’s dynamic marketplace. By examining these strategic capital movements, we can better understand the structural changes reshaping the sports business landscape and identify emerging opportunities with sustainable growth potential.
For executives, investors, and strategic decision-makers operating in the sports ecosystem, these insights provide a valuable framework for evaluating investment opportunities, recognizing potential risks, and positioning for long-term value creation in a rapidly evolving industry.
Bullish Investment Targets: Where Capital is Flowing
Creator-Driven Sports Properties and Leagues
A significant capital migration is underway toward creator-driven sports leagues and properties, which leverage existing audience relationships to accelerate growth trajectories. Vasu Kulkarni, Partner at Courtside Ventures, explicitly identifies these properties as prime investment targets, citing their “built-in audience from day one, thereby greatly accelerating the growth of the business.”
This model represents a fundamental shift in sports property development, where audience acquisition—traditionally the most costly and time-consuming aspect of launching new sports competitions—is front-loaded through creator relationships. Courtside’s investment in Baller League, an emerging six-on-six soccer competition distributed through streaming platforms, exemplifies this approach.
Similarly, Greg Bettinelli, partner at The Chernin Group, has expressed bullishness on “creator and influencer-driven sports and intellectual property.” He specifically references YouTube phenomenon Mr. Beast and professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau, who has strategically prioritized building his media platform over the past year and a half.
These examples illustrate a broader trend: the convergence of sports intellectual property with established content creators who bring pre-existing audience relationships and distribution capabilities. For investors, this model potentially reduces the typical 5-10 year audience development timeline for new sports properties to a fraction of that period, creating more attractive investment economics.
Bettinelli further expands on the opportunity, noting: “We see lots of opportunities for novel formats in beloved sports like basketball, golf and soccer.” This suggests that innovation around traditional sports—rather than entirely new sports concepts—represents a particularly promising investment area when paired with established creator relationships.
Youth Sports Evolution
Multiple prominent investors identified youth sports as a compelling investment category for 2025, with particularly strong opportunities in technology integration and experience enhancement.
Jay Adya, managing partner of Elysian Park Ventures, specifically highlighted businesses “that can drive participation across early youth sport” as attractive investments. His firm currently backs ventures like Snap! Mobile, a software platform supporting sports community fundraising, and Breakaway Data, a sports analytics firm. These investments reflect a focus on infrastructure and enablement technologies that enhance the youth sports ecosystem rather than direct league or event ownership.
Bettinelli’s perspective adds additional nuance, focusing specifically on team sports with “opportunities for differentiated and unique experiences that families will enjoy and remember.” His highlighted categories—baseball, softball, flag football, volleyball, lacrosse, cheer and dance—suggest particular interest in sports with strong community engagement components and potential for experience enhancement.
Wayne Kimmel, managing partner at SeventySix Capital, provides further insight on the technology integration driving youth sports investment: “Youth sports will grow as athletes, parents and coaches access and use technology to enable real-time data access, personalized training recommendations and more sophisticated performance tracking.” This technological enhancement layer potentially creates multiple investment entry points across the youth sports value chain.
The combined perspectives suggest a youth sports investment thesis centered on:
- Technology enabling greater participation accessibility
- Enhanced experience delivery for participants and families
- Data-driven personalization of development pathways
- Community building and engagement tools
Women’s Sports Acceleration
Women’s sports emerged as a consistent theme among investors’ bullish outlooks, supported by concrete growth metrics and expanding audience engagement.
SeventySix Capital’s Kimmel and Ryan Sports Ventures’ Brian Kopp both explicitly identified women’s sports as growth opportunities, with advertising spend reaching $244 million in 2024—representing a remarkable 139% year-over-year increase. This accelerating commercial investment provides tangible validation for the sector’s growth trajectory.
Investors specifically highlighted the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) and WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association) as key growth areas, alongside women’s college basketball and volleyball. These properties benefit from growing audience engagement, increasing media rights valuations, and expanding sponsor interest.
The investment thesis is further supported by Deloitte’s projection that global revenue for women’s sports will reach $2.35 billion in 2025. However, several investors noted that the category’s ultimate ceiling remains undefined, suggesting significant additional growth potential.
This projected growth likely reflects multiple converging factors:
- Sustained audience development across multiple women’s sports
- Media rights monetization approaching more mature valuation models
- Sponsor recognition of the category’s unique audience demographics
- Cross-platform content distribution strategies enhancing reach
- Star athlete development creating marketable personalities
Soccer Investment Ahead of World Cup 2026
North American soccer investment emerged as a particularly compelling opportunity ahead of the 2026 World Cup hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Ryan Sports Ventures’ Kopp expressed bullishness on U.S. soccer fandom specifically, citing multiple catalysts including “Lionel Messi’s impact on MLS and the NWSL’s increased momentum toward a 16-team league in 2026.” He noted that “we’re finally seeing real market traction and fandom” and sees “potential in all aspects of the beautiful game” ahead of the North American World Cup.
This perspective was reinforced by The Chernin Group’s Bettinelli, who stated directly that “anything to do with the 2026 World Cup in the United States” represents a “buy” opportunity. The upcoming tournament, featuring an expanded 48-team format, creates multiple investment entry points across the soccer ecosystem.
The investment thesis appears centered on sustained market development rather than just a temporary event-driven surge, suggesting structural growth in North American soccer engagement that the World Cup will accelerate rather than create. This potentially opens opportunities across multiple segments:
- Club ownership at various competition tiers
- Fan engagement and content platforms
- Participation infrastructure and youth development
- Training and performance technologies
- Tournament-adjacent hospitality and experience offerings
Cautious Outlook: Areas Under Monitoring
College Sports Landscape
Multiple investors expressed a “hold” perspective on college sports investments, primarily due to ongoing structural uncertainty within the ecosystem.
Galatioto Sports Partners’ President Sal Galatioto recommended holding college sports investments “until the entire landscape has more certainty.” This view was echoed by The Chernin Group’s Bettinelli, who categorized men’s college sports specifically as a “neutral” investment area.
Bettinelli provided additional context, noting: “Everyone agrees college football is under monetized and everyone is paying lots of attention, but the next few years will likely be chaotic.” He specifically highlighted that “players getting paid what they deserve will make building actual businesses difficult,” suggesting that compensation model evolution represents a key uncertainty for potential investors.
This cautious outlook extends specifically to private equity investment in college sports, with multiple bankers and investors, including Elysian Park Ventures’ Adya, expressing bearish views. Adya stated that college sports has “many foundational issues to sort out before private equity becomes a meaningful driver,” including transfer portal regulations and overall governance structure.
This perspective comes despite significant interest from private equity in collegiate conferences, with reports of preliminary bids for stakes in the Big Ten and discussions around an $800 million to $1 billion investment in the Big 12 for a 15-20% stake. These potential transactions suggest institutional investor interest despite the identified structural challenges.
Formula One Growth Trajectory
Formula One represents another “hold” category according to The Chernin Group’s Bettinelli, despite its significant recent growth in North America.
Bettinelli acknowledged F1’s “incredible job introducing the sport to Americans,” including through Netflix’s documentary series “Drive to Survive” during the pandemic period. However, he questioned the long-term engagement strategy, asking: “What will they do to get more fans engaged for the long-term?”
This perspective suggests concerns about sustaining the growth trajectory rather than fundamental business model weaknesses. The key question appears to center on whether recent audience development represents a sustainable shift in American motorsport interest or a temporary surge driven by content innovation and pandemic viewing patterns.
Sports Gambling Evolution
Sports betting companies received a “hold” rating from Courtside’s Kulkarni, who noted that “an unprecedented number of favorites won games and produced massive losses for sports books” in late 2024.
Looking forward, Kulkarni projected additional state-level gambling legalization in 2025, driven by new revenue opportunities. This expansion continues the trend that has seen approximately 40 states and Washington D.C. legalizing sports betting.
Ryan Sports Ventures’ Kopp expressed additional caution regarding the gambling sector’s growth, noting: “There is a potential dark side of allowing an addictive and sometimes destructive behavior to be so easily accessible. The growth will continue, but I’m afraid we are just starting to see some of the downside.”
This balanced perspective suggests that while market expansion continues, regulatory considerations and social impact factors may create headwinds for certain business models within the sector.
Novel Sports Formats and Leagues
New sports formats and leagues with modifications to traditional competitions represent another area where investors are expressing cautious monitoring rather than unbridled enthusiasm.
Kopp specifically highlighted TGL in golf and Unrivaled in women’s basketball as examples of “new twists on existing sports” that merit watching. He noted their promising starts, with TGL averaging 513,000 viewers during its inaugural regular season and Unrivaled averaging 186,000 viewers before its regular season conclusion.
However, Kopp questioned their long-term sustainability, stating: “These new leagues are off to strong starts, but it is unclear if their novelty will eventually wear off.” This perspective suggests that while format innovation can drive initial audience interest, sustaining engagement requires developing deeper competitive narratives and athlete relationships beyond novelty value.
Bearish Outlook: Areas Facing Investment Headwinds
Traditional Cable Sports Networks
Courtside’s Kulkarni expressed bearish views on traditional cable sports broadcasting networks, which “continue to feel the heat from streaming platforms that are increasingly looking to acquire media rights in order to grow their own subscriber bases.”
This perspective reflects fundamental distribution model disruption, as streaming platforms prioritize sports rights acquisition to drive subscriber growth—often outbidding traditional networks. The resulting competitive pressure creates challenging economics for cable-based sports networks, particularly as cord-cutting accelerates among younger demographics.
Legacy Ticketing Platforms
Ryan Sports Ventures’ Kopp identified legacy sports ticketing platforms, specifically Ticketmaster and Paciolan, as facing significant headwinds. He characterized these platforms as not user-friendly, describing them as “cumbersome” and “difficult to share.”
His analysis suggested that “emerging platforms will hopefully push this part of the market to modernize to meet fan expectations.” This perspective highlights how consumer experience expectations, shaped by other digital service interactions, are creating pressure for modernization in traditional sports ticketing infrastructure.
Regional Media Rights Models
The Chernin Group’s Bettinelli expressed particularly bearish views on professional sports teams dependent on regional media rights, stating directly: “this money is never coming back.” This assessment reflects the continued disruption of regional sports networks, with multiple prominent bankruptcy filings and restructurings over recent years.
Teams traditionally dependent on these regional broadcasting deals for significant revenue face structural challenges in replacing this income stream, potentially forcing broader business model reconsideration. This reality may influence franchise valuations for teams heavily reliant on regional media income.
Tier Two Fighting Leagues
Bettinelli also identified tier two professional fighting leagues as facing investment headwinds. While acknowledging that “unique formats might grab short-term attention,” he questioned the “sustainability and long-term monetization for lower-tier and niche fighting sports.”
This perspective suggests that while combat sports continue to attract audience interest, the economics of second-tier promotions face fundamental challenges in creating sustainable business models compared to established leaders like UFC and major boxing promotions.
Non-UK European Football Clubs
European football clubs outside the United Kingdom received bearish assessments from Bettinelli, who stated: “The Premier League is already the Super League and a natural magnet for global and American fandom.”
This perspective suggests that the Premier League’s first-mover advantage in global marketing, English-language broadcasting, and international fan development creates sustainable competitive advantages that other European leagues struggle to overcome. For investors seeking European football exposure, this view implies concentrating on Premier League opportunities rather than continental alternatives.
Strategic Implications for Industry Stakeholders
For Sports Property Owners and Operators
The identified investment trends suggest several strategic imperatives for sports property owners and operators:
- Creator partnerships – Exploring collaborations with established content creators to accelerate audience development and expand distribution channels
- Experience enhancement – Investing in differentiated experiences that create memorable engagement, particularly in youth and family-oriented properties
- Technology integration – Implementing data-driven solutions that enhance participant development, fan engagement, and operational efficiency
- Women’s sports expansion – Developing or acquiring women’s sports properties with growing audience interest and expanding commercial potential
- Business model diversification – Reducing dependency on potentially vulnerable revenue streams like regional media rights in favor of direct-to-consumer models and diversified income sources
For Investors and Financial Stakeholders
For investors considering sports ecosystem opportunities, the analysis suggests several portfolio considerations:
- Creator-platform convergence – Prioritizing investments where established creators and traditional sports properties intersect, potentially reducing audience development timelines
- Infrastructure plays – Focusing on technology and service platforms that enhance multiple aspects of the sports value chain rather than single-property bets
- Women’s sports entry points – Identifying opportunities to participate in women’s sports growth at relatively early valuations compared to projected growth trajectories
- World Cup 2026 ecosystem – Developing strategic exposure to North American soccer’s development accelerated by the upcoming tournament
- Legacy model disruption – Evaluating opportunities in areas like ticketing modernization where consumer expectations are driving innovation
For Athletes and Talent
The investment landscape analysis also carries implications for athletes and sports talent:
- Platform development – Building direct audience relationships through owned media platforms to create leverage beyond traditional performance value
- IP ownership – Seeking ownership positions in emerging properties rather than simple participation fees
- Women’s sports career pathways – Recognizing the expanding commercial opportunities in women’s sports across multiple disciplines
- Creator collaborations – Exploring partnerships with established content creators to accelerate personal brand development
- Technology engagement – Participating in sports technology development that enhances training, performance, and fan engagement
Conclusion: Navigating the Evolving Sports Investment Landscape
The 2025 sports investment landscape reflects broader industry transformation driven by changing consumer behaviors, technological innovation, and media disruption. For stakeholders across the ecosystem, these capital flow indicators provide valuable strategic guidance for resource allocation and opportunity evaluation.
Several key themes emerge from this comprehensive analysis:
- Audience relationships first – Properties built around existing audience relationships through creator-driven models demonstrate significant advantages in development timelines and economics.
- Experience enhancement focus – Investments enhancing participant and fan experiences, particularly through technology integration, show strong growth potential across multiple segments.
- Women’s sports momentum – The continued acceleration of women’s sports commercial development creates multiple investment entry points with substantial upside potential.
- Disintermediation pressure – Traditional intermediaries facing disruption, from cable networks to legacy ticketing platforms, require strategic repositioning to maintain relevance.
- Structural uncertainty in collegiate models – Despite significant monetization potential, structural evolution in college sports creates investment complexity requiring careful approach.
As the sports industry continues its transformation, stakeholders who recognize these capital flow indicators and align strategies accordingly position themselves for success in an increasingly complex ecosystem. The most promising opportunities appear at the intersection of established sports intellectual property with innovative distribution models, enhanced user experiences, and direct audience relationships.
photo: NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 15: Caitlin Clark poses with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected first overall pick by the Indiana Fever during the 2024 WNBA Draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 15, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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