Superfans to Super Investors: Major League Sports Capital

The landscape of professional sports has changed.

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Take, for example, the Green Bay Packers tradition that began under Vince Lombardi in the 1960s, when players would ride the bikes of the local Green Bay kids to and from training camp. To this day, children beg their parents to go line up in the early morning hours, bikes and decorated signs in hand, with the hope that a player will pick theirs to make the trip from the stadium to the training grounds. This continuing tradition is one of the last of its kind, fostering lifelong brand loyalty using real personal connection.

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Today, massive sports organizations like the NFL operate more like corporations than members of their fan communities. Understandably; this is big business.

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But the concepts don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Sports franchises can still harbor that emotional connection using 21st-century tools. And, incidentally, the organization that still rides its fans’ childhood bikes is also the one leading the charge toward a new era of fan ownership.

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The Packers raised $65.8 million in capital and added 176,160 new shareholders through their 2021 DealMaker campaign. And while they remain the only example of a major American pro sports team offering fan ownership, they also remain the most powerful case study for just how much money is being left on the table.

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Professional sports teams already have a baked-in advantage: few things engender such strong loyalty. That said, it’s still critical for these teams to maintain and nurture that loyalty. To reward that connection. Because whether official or not, that’s exactly what fans are: shareholders. And the Packers join the likes of European soccer powerhouses FC Barcelona, Real Madrid F.C., the German Bundesliga and others in transforming social capital into financial capital by offering fan ownership.

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What’s in for teams? Well, Brian Christie said it perfectly in his recent writeup for the Sports Business Journal: “Giving fans the opportunity to invest and share in ownership isn’t about charity -- it’s about a chance to democratize ownership and bring it closer to the heart of American communities. It’s a paradigm shift of ownership to a more inclusive, fan-based model. And using Reg A+ over a 14-year time span, it could mean over $1 billion invested by fans into a team they love.”

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Additionally, sports organizations can garner more than just capital with this strategy; research shows customers who become shareholders drive 54% more value into the brand and show 60% more brand loyalty and engagement. They are empowered to care on an entirely new level.

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Fans are the lifeblood of all sports leagues—and decision-makers know that growing and nurturing those relationships is more critical than ever today. The best way to do that in 2024? Vote for league regulations that allow more teams to raise from their fans.