By 2026, capital in sports will shift decisively from passive ownership to strategic control; investors will focus less on club badges and more on building integrated operating platforms across data, media, and talent.
Jordi Mora Esteve, Founding Partner, Envalria Partners
Sports investing is being rewired
Sports is evolving into a full-stack asset class, and that’s changing where capital flows. After years of investment in premium teams and leagues, leaders now expect meaningful value creation in the “second layer” of the ecosystem: mid-tier properties — with room for uplift through professionalization — and the tech and service providers that power operations, distribution, and monetization, signaling that sports’ investable surface area is widening beyond top-tier rights.
Recent announcements from financial investors confirm this: Bruin Capital's $1 billion raise to acquire "second-level sports enablers" in tech and data, and SC Holdings' lead of a $50 million merger to consolidate professional pickleball into a single commercial platform.
The strategic importance of tech and service providers is rooted in economics. We estimate that sports stakeholders retain approximately $400 billion annually to fund operating spend, including technology and service providers, creating a large, durable demand pool for “picks-and-shovels” businesses embedded in long-term partnerships across the value chain.
The most attractive investment opportunities will be providers that automate processes, leverage data, and use AI intelligently to personalize experiences and deliver greater value to fans.
Fabian Häfliger, Head of Commercial & Finance, Asport
Tech, data, and consolidation are driving the next wave of value creation
Leaders see the greatest upside in tech solutions that drive monetization. Across the sports value chain, tech is expected to drive both operational efficiency (e.g., admin, venue operations, production, performance) and revenue growth (e.g., fan conversion, engagement, betting). Within sports tech, investment conviction is strongest in fan data and engagement (80–74%), followed by betting infrastructure (72%) and athlete performance solutions (66%), reflecting the market’s focus on scalable platforms with clear ROI and repeatable adoption.
As the landscape matures, the investment playbook is changing too: sports tech is shifting from early-stage VC to growth equity and private equity, with consolidation and roll-ups becoming a central value creation strategy. Deal activity already reflects scale and momentum, and we anticipate acceleration as scaled platforms command larger exits.
For investors, the next wave won’t be defined by a single “right answer,” but by clear choices across a set of trade-offs: DTC versus B2B exposure, IP-plus-services synergies versus pure operational capability, and vertical champions versus integrated platform plays. The winners will be those who pick where to play (which verticals have the best tailwinds, margin profiles, and consolidation paths) and how to play (which structure delivers repeatable value creation and a credible exit).
A clear perspective on these choices is essential to ensuring long-term viability and sustaining strong returns.
