How Deal Flow Works in Sports Investing

Capital is not the only constraint in sports investing. Access is the other.

In sports, deal flow depends on relationships, league approvals and operating context, not only on capital. Many sports transactions are negotiated privately rather than through a public sale process. How a manager sources deals is one factor to weigh when evaluating a sports investment manager.

The Structural Reality of Deal Flow

When a minority stake in a Premier League club becomes available, the ownership group rarely runs a broad auction. It approaches a small number of buyers it knows, trusts and expects to clear league ownership tests without friction. The same is true in the NFL, the NBA, the WNBA and most major sports leagues. Relationships built over years of operating inside the industry shape who is in the room.

This is not incidental to the asset class. Sports investing is a relationship-driven market in a way that real estate and private equity broadly are not. In private equity, capital and an analytical framework can source deal flow through advisors, bankers and intermediaries. In sports, the intermediaries are often the deal participants themselves, and those relationships are built through years of operating presence.

Why Access Comes Before Analysis

In most asset classes, the difference between good and great outcomes comes from analysis: better underwriting, better modeling, better operating plans. In sports, the difference often comes one step earlier: whether you see the deal at all.

Ideally, a manager has both strong underwriting and strong deal access. You cannot underwrite what you are not shown.

How The Champion Fund Sources Access

The Champion Fund's access is built on the founding team's operating history inside professional sports, earned through careers spent in the industry rather than through capital or marketing.

Marques Colston played ten NFL seasons with the New Orleans Saints, later owned and ran a professional indoor football franchise, and worked as a financial advisor at Janney Montgomery Scott (former registered representative, Series 7 and Series 66). Nick Edwards served as team physiologist and performance director for five professional sports franchises across multiple leagues before building his investment career in venture capital and venture studios, applying the operating judgment he developed inside sports organizations to evaluating and building private companies.

These are relationships built inside ownership structures, locker rooms and front offices. Access does not show up on a marketing slide. It shows up in which conversations a manager is part of.

This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or an offer to buy or sell any security. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investments involve risk, including the potential loss of principal. Please read The Champion Fund's prospectus carefully before investing.