Key Takeaways
- Sports technology merger values more than doubled to $156 billion in 2025 despite deal volume remaining flat at 450 transactions
- Private equity firms held $880 billion in uninvested capital as of September 2025, according to PwC data
- Sports-focused funds totaling $12 billion launched in 2025, including Apollo Global Management’s $5 billion vehicle and Avenue Capital’s $1 billion fund
- Youth sports household spending increased 46% from 2019 to 2024 to over $1,000 annually per family, according to Aspen Institute research
- Total U.S. parental spending on youth sports is estimated at $40 billion annually
Large Transactions Drive 2025 Valuations
Sports technology transactions reached approximately $200 billion in 2025 across more than 1,000 deals, according to data from technology investment bank Drake Star Global. This represents a 132% increase from the $86 billion recorded across roughly 1,100 deals in 2024.
Deal size, not volume, drove the increase. Sports tech mergers totaled 450 transactions worth $156 billion in 2025, compared to 455 deals valued at nearly $72 billion in 2024.
Three large transactions accounted for significant portions of the year’s activity: Netflix’s $82.7 billion acquisition of Warner Bros, the $55 billion sale of Electronic Arts to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund alongside Silver Lake and Affinity Partners, and Allwyn’s $4.15 billion purchase of PrizePicks.
“2025 was a landmark year for sports technology. It was a banner year for sports,” said Mohit Pareek, partner at Drake Star and author of the report.
The activity occurred despite President Trump’s tariffs announced in April, a 43-day government shutdown in late 2025, and ongoing geopolitical conflicts. Many transactions paused earlier in the year but later resumed. Pareek noted the tariff impact was “short-lived” and that sports tech remained “largely less impacted but larger deals [took] longer to execute.”
Institutional Funds Target Sports Investments
Private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds launched or announced $12 billion in new sports-focused funds during 2025. Apollo Global Management is raising a $5 billion sports investment vehicle after acquiring majority control of LaLiga club Atlético Madrid, according to press reports. Marc Lasry’s Avenue Capital closed its sports fund at over $1 billion, while Apex Capital is collecting $350 million targeting European sports assets, Forbes reported in December. Monarch Collective expanded its debut fund focused on women’s sports to $250 million from an initial $150 million.
Youth sports drew specific attention from investors. “Youth sports is getting more and more professionalized. It’s happening because of all the technology around youth sports,” Pareek said.
Research by the Aspen Institute shows average annual household spending on youth sports rose more than 46% from 2019 to 2024 to over $1,000 per family. Total annual parental spending on youth sports in the U.S. is estimated at $40 billion, driven in part by participation growth through and since the pandemic.
Private placements followed the same pattern of rising deal values despite declining volume. While the number of transactions fell 24% to 500 in 2025, their collective value of $14.3 billion more than tripled the $4.5 billion across 661 private placements in 2024.
Dealmaking Expected to Continue Through 2026
U.S.-based private equity firms held approximately $880 billion in dry powder, or uninvested capital, as of September 2025, according to data from PwC. Pareek expects activity to continue in 2026, with both transactions exceeding $1 billion and mid-market deals ranging from $50 million to $500 million.
“With sports, there is so much happening that it is definitely one of the classes PE can deploy in a meaningful way,” Pareek said. “On the strategic side, the market is trying to consolidate so that is driving a lot.”
via: Sportico
photo: finimize
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