Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

Managing owners Bennett Rosenthal of Ares (bottom right), Larry Berg of Apollo (top left) and Brandon Beck (bottom left) of Riot Games rotate as team head every four years. Mandalay Entertainment’s Peter Guber has been executive chairman since 2014.

Tim Tadder for Forbes

Billionaires have long believed in the potential of MLS. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and entertainment mogul Philip Anschutz were among MLS’ original owners, and a slew of others—including Tepper, Morningstar founder Joe Mansueto (Chicago Fire, 2018) and Qualtrics’ Ryan Smith (Real Salt Lake, 2022)—have since gotten in the game and driven up team values.

“It’s less of a financial hurdle to control an MLS team than [in] some other sports, so you do see more people who can do it,” says Rosenthal, who is worth an estimated $1.3 billion. “But I think people love it. They want to be a part of the community and the trajectory.” Forbes estimates there are at least 19 billionaires or members of billionaire families who have key ownership stakes in MLS franchises.

Rosenthal, who fell in love with soccer while managing his daughter’s team, and Apollo Global Management partner Larry Berg, who played the sport from age 8, became LAFC minority owners in 2014. The two knew each other well from the private equity world and had together invested in Italian soccer club A.S. Roma. “To be honest,” Berg says, “MLS wasn’t really sexy yet.” In 2016, they increased their stakes and became LAFC’s co–managing owners along with Riot Games cofounder Brandon Beck, who had invested in 2015, each agreeing to rotate as the team’s lead owner every four years. Rosenthal took on that role in January. As befits a team in Los Angeles, several celebrities—including Will Ferrell, Magic Johnson and Mia Hamm—have minority stakes in the club. Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber is LAFC’s executive chairman. Meanwhile, LAFC built a $350 million, 22,000-seat soccer-specific stadium in downtown L.A. and barnstormed soccer bars and held pep rallies to build interest. It even sent fans to a match in Germany to study European fan culture.

Those investments have paid tremendous dividends. LAFC has sold out every MLS regular season and playoff match since its first kickoff in 2018. Celebrity superfans are frequently seen in the stands, with Justin Bieber and Wiz Khalifa attending the MLS Cup in November. And LAFC turned an estimated $8 million operating profit on a league- high $116 million in revenue last year. That figure is set to rise in 2023, with BMO agreeing to a league-record 10-year, $100 million stadium naming rights deal.

Just how far can LAFC and MLS go? More than half the clubs lose money and, with average revenue at $55 million, MLS teams can’t really compete against Europe’s soccer clubs for top players. “A billion dollars is a huge number. Nine times, eight times revenue is huge, particularly when you’re locked in to a certain degree on your media rights,” says Edwin E. Draughan, a vice president at sports investment bank Park Lane. (Manchester United, by contrast, is valued at $4.6 billion, or 6.9 times revenue.) The future for MLS investors is predicated on how much soccer continues to grow in North America, with hopes pinned on a new annual tournament between MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX kicking off in 2023. And in 2026, soccer should get another big boost when the United States, Canada and Mexico cohost the next World Cup.

Even more crucial is MLS’ new media rights deal with Apple, which has unified the league’s local and national broadcast rights under one umbrella. Per the arrangement, MLS is guaranteed at least $2.5 billion over 10 years, and possibly more based on subscriptions. It’s a big payday, but less than the $300 million annually the league reportedly expected, especially given that MLS must pay the production costs. While MLS has added ancillary TV deals with Fox, Univision, TSN and RDS, no major North American sports league has committed to a streaming-first strategy.

“Everything’s a gamble,” Rosenthal says. “But it’s a really smart bet.”

MLS Valuations 2023

Nos. 1-7

Los Angeles Football Club

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

 

Omar Vega/Getty Images

LA Galaxy

Atlanta United FC

New York City FC

D.C. United

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

 

Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Toronto FC

Austin FC

Nos. 8-14

Seattle Sounders FC

Portland Timbers

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

 

Simon Sturzaker/Getty Images

Charlotte FC

Inter Miami CF

Sporting Kansas City

Philadelphia Union

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

 

Omar Vega/Getty Images

FC Cincinnati

Nos. 15-21

Columbus Crew

Minnesota United FC

New York Red Bulls

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

 

Ira L/Black Corbis/Getty Images

Nashville SC

New England Revolution

San Jose Earthquakes

Real Salt Lake

Nos. 22-28

Houston Dynamo FC

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

 

Michael Wyke/Ap

Chicago Fire FC

Orlando City SC

Vancouver Whitecaps FC

FC Dallas

CF Montréal

Major League Soccer's Most Valuable Clubs 2023: LAFC Is The First Billion-Dollar Franchise

Colorado Rapids

To rank the most valuable Major League Soccer franchises, Forbes examined recent transaction data, reviewed publicly available financial information and spoke to more than 40 team executives, owners, investment bankers and industry insiders. All published figures are Forbes estimates; team values do not include stadiums, real estate or debt. Revenue and operating income are for the 2022 season, and the latter represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Playoffs, player transfers and shared distributions from MLS were excluded from revenue calculations. Clubs’ ancillary revenue streams, such as non-MLS events, were included.

*Billionaires or billionaire families

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