On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with sports banker Sal Galatioto about franchise valuations, MLB economics, and his growing appreciation for pro hockey. Galatioto is president of Galatioto Sports Partners, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. He’s been involved in dozens of sports deals, both on the buy-side and the sell-side. He starts by talking about some of his first—including the Holt family’s entry into the San Antonio Spurs back in the mid-1990s, when you could buy an NBA team for $80 million. At the time, people were debating whether there was bubble in sports valuations. Thirty years later, valuations have continued steadily up, and the questions still persist. Galatioto talks about why sports teams continue to appreciate. For one, there’s a fixed number of franchises, so supply remains relatively stagnant as demand from billionaires, and now institutional funds, continues to increase. Sports teams are also an asset that is uncorrelated from the rest of the market. During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, he says, franchises kept selling at record numbers. That held true for the COVID pandemic as well. Next he shares his opinion on deal-making in specific sports. He explains why he thinks MLB franchises are currently undervalued—there are more home games than any other sport, it’s a better gambling product and its revenue multiples are the lowest among the major U.S. leagues. There’s also a labor battle on the horizon, with owners talking more and more about the possibility of a salary cap; that cost certainty would increase franchise valuations. He also discusses his thoughts on the other major leagues. On the NFL, he says, “my golden retriever could run an NFL team and make money.” He applauds the NBA for how it has leveraged the stardom of the players to grow interest. And he talks about how his opinion of the NHL changed when he was retained to sell the Ottawa Senators a few years ago. He closes by talking about why he thinks the current uncertainty in the U.S. economic markets will not affect sports dealmaking. (You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)

He also discusses his thoughts on the other major leagues. On the NFL, he says, “my golden retriever could run an NFL team and make money.” He applauds the NBA for how it has leveraged the stardom of the players to grow interest. And he talks about how his opinion of the NHL changed when […]

He also discusses his thoughts on the other major leagues. On the NFL, he says, “my golden retriever could run an NFL team and make money.” He applauds the NBA for how it has leveraged the stardom of the players to grow interest. And he talks about how his opinion of the NHL changed when he was retained to sell the Ottawa Senators a few years ago.
Next he shares his opinion on deal-making in specific sports. He explains why he thinks MLB franchises are currently undervalued—there are more home games than any other sport, it’s a better gambling product and its revenue multiples are the lowest among the major U.S. leagues. There’s also a labor battle on the horizon, with owners talking more and more about the possibility of a salary cap; that cost certainty would increase franchise valuations.

He closes by talking about why he thinks the current uncertainty in the U.S. economic markets will not affect sports dealmaking.

On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with sports banker Sal Galatioto about franchise valuations, MLB economics, and his growing appreciation for pro hockey.

(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)

Galatioto is president of Galatioto Sports Partners, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. He’s been involved in dozens of sports deals, both on the buy-side and the sell-side. He starts by talking about some of his first—including the Holt family’s entry into the San Antonio Spurs back in the mid-1990s, when you could buy an NBA team for million. At the time, people were debating whether there was bubble in sports valuations. Thirty years later, valuations have continued steadily up, and the questions still persist.

Galatioto talks about why sports teams continue to appreciate. For one, there’s a fixed number of franchises, so supply remains relatively stagnant as demand from billionaires, and now institutional funds, continues to increase. Sports teams are also an asset that is uncorrelated from the rest of the market. During the Great Recession of 2007-2009, he says, franchises kept selling at record numbers. That held true for the COVID pandemic as well.