Rory McIlroy makes feelings clear on buying NFL or NBA team

Rory McIlroy, the five-time major champion and world No. 2, has partnered with a $200 billion private equity fund, TPG, to launch TPG Sports, aimed at investing in budding businesses. However, don't anticipate the Masters champion snapping up sports teams anytime soon. Since establishing Symphony Ventures with his agent Sean O'Flaherty in 2019, McIlroy has been a significant player in the investment sphere.

The new venture sees McIlroy and O'Flaherty as operating partners, a role they are familiar with having previously collaborated with TPG. The firm manages assets worth $200 billion and has investments in DirecTV and Creative Artists Agency, representing stars like Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, and Paul George.

McIlroy's investment portfolio includes shares in F1 team Alpine, health and fitness brand Whoop, and golf management company Troon, with TPG playing a crucial part in the latter deal. Speaking to CNBC on Friday, McIlroy said: "At the back end of 2023, Sean and I were talking about what was our next step on our journey in the investment world.

"We started talking to TPG and they were starting to look at the sports space, which has become pretty interesting over the past few years.

"We've always had a relationship, but I think the launch of TPG Sports is a formalization of the relationship we've always had."

The 35-year-old golf icon, who has a stake in the revolutionary TGL tech-powered golf league he co-founded with Tiger Woods, is shifting his business focus. McIlroy made it crystal clear that TPG Sports isn't chasing "sexy trophy assets" like NFL and NBA franchises.

McIlroy, alongside TPG president Todd Sisitsky, is on the hunt for lucrative ventures within "sports adjacent" markets, sensing prime investment time in the booming sports sector.

"I don't think this is going to be a fund where you're looking at minority passive investments in NFL teams," declared McIlroy. His vision focuses on innovative businesses spearheading the growth of various sports, pledging hands-on support to fuel their expansion.

Leveraging TPG's expertise, McIlroy and Sean Bratches, industry heavyweight, aim to propel these enterprises forward, aiding them to help leagues and teams evolve and modernize.

While not the traditional prestigious assets like NFL or NBA teams, McIlroy sees immense value in the firms operating alongside the sports industry, vital cogs enhancing the operation and outreach of leagues across the sporting spectrum.

Sisitsky chimed in on the strategy: "Sports are something we've spent a lot of time thinking about. It has a lot of characteristics that are similar to the sectors that we have built practices in over the past two, three decades.

"It has this combination of secular growth and transformative growth that is in many cases driven by the technology and how that changes the way sports are consumed and the way that fans connect with their favorite stars and their favorite teams. That is a really interesting set of characteristics."

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