Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly and Alex Rodriguez interview Alan Waxman, co-founder and CEO of Sixth Street, about why his firm has become an unusually active sports investor. Waxman frames Sixth Street as a flexible, culture-first capital provider and argues that sports investing works best when paired with patient capital, scarce assets, and deep operating alignment with owner-families and leagues. He is constructive on the NFL, NBA, and women’s soccer, and says baseball is the clearest near-term opportunity because of labor uncertainty and potential rights consolidation.
Watch on YouTube ›Get the market thesis, key claims, assets, contradictions, and follow-up questions from any financial video — then unlock a version personalized to your portfolio, watchlist, and favorite speakers.
This is a live Bloomberg Invest conversation and the core thesis is straightforward: Alan Waxman believes sports can be a durable institutional investment class, but only if the capital base is patient and the asset is scarce, culturally aligned, and backed by real economic infrastructure. He repeatedly contrasts Sixth Street’s approach with traditional private equity, saying the firm was built with “complete flexibility,” smaller strategy funds, and an “investor first architecture” rather than a forced five-to-seven-year exit horizon. That patient structure, in his view, is essential for minority or control stakes in sports franchises, where partner relationships and long holding periods matter as much as financial engineering. The Patriots discussion is the centerpiece of the interview. …
Tactically, sports franchises remain crowded and expensive, so the immediate edge is in selective situations where labor or valuation uncertainty creates a better entry point. Baseball looks the most actionable near term; otherwise the risk is paying top dollar for scarce assets without enough near-term economic support.
Over the next few months, the setup favors continued institutionalization of sports ownership, especially in leagues with patient-capital-friendly rules and growing media distribution. The key validation is whether global audiences, rights consolidation, and league economics expand fast enough to justify today’s higher franchise prices.
The long-run regime is a migration of elite sports from family ownership toward institutionalized capital, with franchise value increasingly tied to global media, infrastructure, and adjacent real estate economics. If that happens, sports become a durable alternative asset class, but only for leagues that can convert scarcity into sustainable cash flow.
Sixth Street is built for flexibility across asset classes, geographies, and sectors, not for forced fund-size growth.
Waxman says the firm was designed to chase the best risk-reward with smaller strategy funds and an investor-first culture.
The Patriots deal worked because Waxman and the Krafts shared culture, values, and clarity of purpose.
He says the relationship felt immediate and the negotiation was short because the partnership dynamic was already aligned.
NFL teams are attractive because the league is durable, led by best-in-class management, and still has international growth potential.
Waxman cites Roger Goodell, league durability, and global expansion as core reasons to invest.
How did the deal with the Krafts for the Patriots start?
Waxman says the NFL first approved his firm through a league process, after which NFL CFO Joe Siclare emailed him and suggested he meet Robert and Jonathan Kraft because of cultural fit. Waxman says they met, clicked immediately on values and purpose, and the deal came together as a relationship-driven handshake rather than a competitive bidding process.
What makes investing in the NFL attractive as a minority shareholder?
Waxman points to the league's durability and strong leadership under Roger Goodell, plus the appeal of the Boston sports market and the broader international growth potential of NFL and other sports brands. He also says the investment was compelling because of the franchise's culture and because the league can expand globally as local brands become worldwide ones.
How has private capital performed in sports so far, and where does it go next?
Waxman says adoption has been roughly what he expected, but the important distinction is that private capital can be patient, unlike private equity structures that force exits in five to seven years. He expects the category to grow if valuations keep rising, but argues the next wave of sports investing will require substantial infrastructure and real-estate adjacency to justify current valuations.
Unlock the full claims, asset map, scores, related transcripts, follow-up questions, and AI chat — shaped around your portfolio, watchlist, favorite speakers, and risks.
