Blue Owl buys minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, its sixth NBA team
What's the deal? Blue OwlDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, has acquired a minority stake in the Cleveland CavaliersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through its HomeCourt Partners fund, a vehicle built to invest in professional sports franchises. Owner Dan Gilbert keeps the majority stake.
The players: HomeCourt Partners is a strategic alliance between Blue Owl and the NBADealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, created to funnel institutional capital into the league's ecosystem. The fund is the only pre-approved institutional investor that can buy equity in any of the 30 NBA franchises — letting it build a diversified portfolio inside a single league.
Why now? The NBA opened the door to specialised institutional investors in 2020, creating a framework that let approved funds hold minority stakes in teams. The Cavaliers deal is the sixth NBA franchise HomeCourt has backed since its launch.
What's the endgame? Blue Owl is trying to turn sports ownership into a formal alternative asset class. The pitch: franchises offer global brands, exclusive rights in closed leagues, growing television and digital revenue, and long-term commercial contracts — traits managers compare to infrastructure or premium real estate.
Why it matters: For decades, owning a team was reserved for billionaires and family groups with an emotional tie to the franchise. That logic is changing as private equity funds, alternative managers, and family offices chase scarce assets with recurring revenue and low correlation to public markets.
"Sports investments are a fast-growing alternative strategy due to the diversification and potential stream of stable income they can provide investors," said Michael Rees, co-president of Blue Owl.
The signal: Blue Owl isn't alone. Arctos PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, RedBird Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Sixth StreetDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and CVC Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → have all built vehicles to invest in teams, leagues, and commercial rights. With several NBA franchises now valued above $5 billion — and the world's most valuable teams topping $10 billion — sports have moved from the entertainment column into the institutional portfolio.
Read more: Funds Society
Image credit: RMTip21
