📌 Why Sports Are Becoming One of the Hottest Investment Categories

Good morning.

Ferrari is now worth $6.5 billion. Mercedes is worth $6 billion. Every single Formula 1 team is valued above $1.5 billion for the first time in history.

Average F1 team valuations are up 90% since 2023. That's faster growth than most tech unicorns.

Sports franchises aren't just trophies for billionaires anymore. They're institutional-grade assets with real cash flow, global fanbases, and returns that rival private equity—plus perks you can't get anywhere else.

Hey there,

Alberto here.

A few days ago, Max Verstappen won his fourth straight Formula 1 World Championship in Abu Dhabi. Red Bull Racing just capped off another dominant season.

But the bigger story isn't who won. It's what F1 teams are now worth—and why sports investments are quietly becoming one of the best-performing alternative asset classes.

Today I'm breaking down why sports valuations are exploding, how F1 went from niche motorsport to billion-dollar franchises, and why sports investments offer something most assets don't: financial returns plus once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Let's go.

Three forces are driving sports values higher: fans, eyeballs, and revenue diversification.

Global fanbases are growing.

Sports aren't regional anymore—they're global. Formula 1 has exploded in the U.S. thanks to Netflix's Drive to Survive. The NBA is massive in China. Premier League games reach 600+ million households worldwide.

More fans = more sponsors = more broadcast money = higher team valuations.

Eyeballs equal advertising dollars.

A single F1 race reaches 70+ million viewers globally. Brands like Oracle, Red Bull, and Mercedes pay tens of millions annually just to put their logo on a car.

That's recurring, predictable revenue tied directly to viewership. And viewership keeps climbing.

Revenue models are diversifying.

Teams used to make money from tickets and merchandise. Now they're media companies, content studios, hospitality businesses, and licensing machines.

F1 teams generate revenue from sponsors, prize money, hospitality packages, merchandise, licensing deals, and content partnerships. That diversification makes them more valuable and less risky as investments.

Let's talk numbers.

That 90% appreciation in two years makes F1 one of the fastest-revaluing leagues in global sports.

Here's what changed:

Liberty Media bought F1 in 2017 and transformed it from a niche European motorsport into a global entertainment brand. They expanded to new markets (especially the U.S.), launched Drive to Survive, and modernized the entire business.

Viewership exploded. Sponsorship dollars poured in. Teams became profitable businesses, not just racing operations.

The cost cap changed everything.

In 2021, F1 introduced a spending cap limiting how much teams can spend annually. That forced financial discipline and pushed most teams toward profitability.

Before the cost cap, teams burned money trying to outspend rivals. Now they operate like real businesses with margins and cash flow.

Investors love that. Profitable franchises with recurring revenue and global reach are institutional-grade assets.

Scarcity drives value.

There are only 10 F1 teams. Adding an 11th requires unanimous approval from existing teams plus a massive entry fee.

Limited supply + surging demand = rapidly increasing valuations.

Red Bull has already declined multi-billion-dollar offers for their second team because they know the value will keep climbing.

A few days ago in Abu Dhabi, Lando Norris clinched his maiden F1 World Championship—ending Max Verstappen's four-year dominance.

The title race went down to the final race. Norris arrived with a 12-point lead over Verstappen. Max won in Abu Dhabi, collecting 25 points. But Norris finished third, scoring just enough to take the championship by 2 points—423 to 421.

It's the closest championship margin in years and marks McLaren's first Drivers' title since Lewis Hamilton won in 2008—a 17-year wait.

Norris won 7 races this season (Australia, Monaco, Austria, Great Britain, Hungary, Mexico, and Brazil), took 7 pole positions, and stood on the podium 18 times out of 24 races. His most dominant win came in Mexico, where he led by over 30 seconds.

Why it matters: Championship wins translate directly into sponsor visibility, merchandise sales, and fan engagement. McLaren secured both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships this year, the first team to do the double since Red Bull in 2024.

That kind of success compounds brand equity. And McLaren's valuation reflects it.

Here's where sports investments get different from every other asset class: they're not just financial plays. They're experiential.

Most investments sit in your portfolio generating returns. You check your account once a quarter and move on.

Sports investments can come with perks that transform the experience entirely:

Access to games and events. Paddock passes at F1 races. Courtside seats at NBA games. Skyboxes at NFL stadiums.

Behind-the-scenes experiences. Meeting drivers, players, and team executives. Touring facilities. Seeing how billion-dollar sports operations actually work.

Exclusive hospitality. VIP treatment at events that most people can't access at any price.

Community and networking. Connecting with other investors who share your passion. Building relationships in an ecosystem you care about.

Bragging rights. Let's be honest—telling people you're an investor in a Formula 1 team or a professional sports franchise hits differently than saying you own shares in enterprise SaaS.

Sports investments combine financial returns with emotional returns. You're not just making money—you're getting experiences you'd pay thousands for anyway.

If you're choosing between two investments with similar risk-reward profiles, and one gives you paddock access at Monaco or courtside seats at the Finals, that's objectively the better deal.

Sports teams are becoming institutional-grade assets for clear reasons:

Predictable revenue. Broadcast deals, sponsorships, and league revenue sharing provide stable cash flow.

Global growth. Leagues are expanding into underserved markets—U.S., Middle East, Asia—driving long-term value.

Scarcity. Fixed supply of teams. Growing demand. Basic economics drives prices up.

Profitability improving. Cost caps and financial discipline are turning teams into real businesses with margins.

Diversified revenue. Teams make money from tickets, merchandise, content, licensing, hospitality. Less risky than single-revenue-stream companies.

Inflation hedge. Sports franchises appreciate over time and aren't as correlated with traditional markets.

F1 checks every box. Women's sports (as we've covered before) are showing similar explosive growth with even more upside.

The challenge has always been access. You can't just buy 1% of Ferrari. These deals are private, exclusive, and require serious capital.

But that's changing as platforms emerge that democratize access to sports investments.

Not all sports investments are equal. Here's what matters:

League trajectory. Is viewership and revenue growing? Is the league expanding globally?

Team fundamentals. Is the team profitable or on a clear path to profitability? Diversified revenue streams?

Scarcity. How many teams are in the league? Is supply limited?

Perks and access. Does the investment come with experiential benefits—tickets, hospitality, behind-the-scenes access?

Valuation. Are you paying a fair price relative to revenue and growth potential?

Exit options. How liquid is the investment? Can you sell your stake if needed?

F1 teams check most of these boxes right now. So do women's sports franchises, which are still early enough to capture massive upside.

At Founderscrowd, we don't just focus on startups. We track alternative assets, including sports investments, that offer both financial returns and unique experiences.

We look for opportunities where:

When we find deals that check these boxes, we bring them to our community at minimums designed for everyday investors—not just billionaires.

Sports investments used to require $50M+ and insider connections. That's changing. And we're here to make sure you don't miss it.

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