Julius Young — Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Vantage
Private equity moved into every major league. NIL crossed $2.7 billion. Athletes have never had more power — or more people trying to take a piece of it.
When Mark Walter completed the purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion in 2025, the transaction confirmed what private equity, sovereign wealth funds, and institutional investors had been quietly arguing for years: sports teams are appreciating assets, and the appreciation has no obvious ceiling.
The NIL economy crossed an estimated $2.7 billion in 2026. The House v. NCAA settlement permits Division I schools to share up to $20.5 million per year directly with athletes. Arch Manning carries an NIL valuation of $5.4 million. The twenty players at the top of the rankings each carry valuations above $2 million.
A USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center study identified 33 athlete-owned production companies generating more than 370 media properties. The Kelce brothers' New Heights podcast secured a $100 million deal with Amazon's Wondery. Athlete-owned podcasts collectively generate more than 7 billion YouTube views.
The $10 billion Lakers sale is the most honest number in modern sports. It tells you exactly what the underlying asset is worth to the people who own it. The harder question is what it is worth to the people who make it worth that much. At the college level, NIL is finally forcing that question into the open — and the $2.7 billion answer is only the beginning.