How Individual Investors Can Gain Exposure to Sports Teams: A Modern Approach

For decades, the barrier to investing in sports teams seemed insurmountable for average people. Traditionally, you needed to be an accredited investor—earning substantial income or maintaining a $1 million net worth (excluding your primary residence)—to access private equity opportunities in professional sports. However, the landscape has shifted, and there are now multiple ways for individual sports fans to invest in sports teams and build meaningful stakes in the organizations they love, without needing a fortune.

Direct Ownership Through Publicly Traded Sports Companies

The most accessible route for everyday investors to gain exposure to sports teams is through purchasing shares of publicly listed sports management companies. If you have a standard brokerage account, you can buy equity in companies that own or operate major professional franchises.

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS) represents one of the most straightforward options. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), this company owns and operates iconic franchises including the New York Knicks (NBA) and the New York Rangers (NHL). By purchasing MSGS shares, you’re indirectly investing in the operations, revenue streams, and growth potential of two historic organizations.

Soccer enthusiasts have their own opportunity through Manchester United (MANU), also traded on the NYSE. The company generates revenue from multiple streams—ticket sales, merchandise, and Premier League broadcasting rights. Your investment captures these diversified income sources rather than betting on a single revenue line.

Baseball fans can consider Atlanta Braves Holdings (BATRA), which trades on the Nasdaq exchange. This company owns Braves Holdings, the parent entity of the Atlanta Braves MLB franchise, along with related stadium assets and liabilities. The Series A shares give you a stake in both the team’s operations and its physical infrastructure.

The advantage of this approach is liquidity and simplicity. You can buy or sell your position quickly during market hours, and the stocks are regulated by the SEC, providing transparency and investor protections.

The Sports Memorabilia Route: Building Value Through Collectibles

Beyond traditional stock ownership, collecting sports memorabilia offers an alternative strategy for sports fans who want to invest in sports teams indirectly. This approach allows you to own tangible assets tied to the franchises and athletes you admire while potentially profiting from appreciation.

Sports memorabilia encompasses a wide range of items: autographed equipment, vintage trading cards, game-worn jerseys, championship memorabilia, and historical artifacts. The market for rare, authenticated pieces has exploded in recent years. Auction house Sotheby’s has even dedicated entire weeks to sports collectibles, signaling the sophistication of this investment category.

The growth trajectory is remarkable. According to market analysts, the sports memorabilia sector expanded from $26.1 billion in 2021 to projections exceeding $227.2 billion by 2032. This represents a compound growth opportunity for investors who can identify undervalued items and hold them through multiple market cycles.

However, memorabilia investing requires careful consideration. You must verify authenticity, factor in storage and preservation costs, and understand that auction house commissions can significantly eat into your profits when selling. An item that cost $10,000 might require $2,000 in climate-controlled storage and another $2,000 in auction fees—potentially transforming a profitable investment into a loss.

Aligning Your Investment Choice With Risk Profile and Timeline

Whether you gravitate toward publicly traded sports stocks or collectible memorabilia, the critical step is honest self-assessment before committing capital.

Investing in publicly traded sports companies introduces volatility that often exceeds that of broad market indices like the S&P 500. These stocks are influenced by team performance, coaching changes, injury reports, and fan sentiment—variables that don’t affect most corporate earnings. This makes sports stocks more suitable for investors with higher risk tolerance and longer time horizons.

Memorabilia investments present different challenges: concentration risk (too much capital in a single rare item), liquidity risk (it may take months to find a buyer), and valuation risk (pricing can be subjective and influenced by hype cycles). Your investment must align with how much capital you can afford to deploy without jeopardizing your financial security.

Before opening a brokerage account or bidding on memorabilia at auction, clarify your objectives. Are you seeking steady income, long-term capital appreciation, or simply a way to deepen your connection to your favorite teams while building wealth? Your answer determines which approach—or combination of approaches—makes the most sense.

The democratization of sports team ownership means the conversation is no longer whether you can invest in sports teams, but rather which method aligns best with your financial situation, risk appetite, and investment timeline.