Plenty of NFL owners have sold pieces of their teams, either to individual partners or to pre-approved private equity funds.
The Cowboys haven’t, but they also won’t close the door on it.
“We wouldn’t rule it out, but, you know, we’d also be very particular in who we would bring in as a partner in terms of that,” Cowboys executive Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Friday. “But, yes, it was designed when we passed that rule that you could have, you know, private equity involved in the NFL, and you could have minority partners, you know, it made sense for a lot of different reasons, and every owner who chooses to go that path can speak for themselves in terms of why they’re doing it, but it does — I think it’s a great tool. I think it makes the league stronger personally, and, certainly, it’s not something we would ever totally rule out. But I wouldn’t say anything’s on the front burner, either.”
The valuation would surely be massive. They could possibly make upwards of $1.5 billion for only 10 percent of the team. And it wouldn’t change anything about their control of the organization.
But it also would result in 10 percent of the future profits going to the partner. Depending on how much the Cowboys are clearing after all expenses, it could be better over the long haul to retain all of the equity — and to keep all of the profits.
Then there’s the reality that equity typically has a greater value when it comes with control. Whatever the valuation on a limited slice of ownership, the full team would be worth more.
And here’s the basic reality. If the Joneses don’t need the money, why sell any of the equity? Once it’s gone, it’s gone for good. (Unless they buy it back.) If business in Big D is truly booming, which we’ll never know for sure without seeing the books, there’s no reason to convert equity into cash.
