The NFL’s accelerating relationship with private equity and celebrity investment groups took another significant step this week as executives from combat sports giant TKO Group joined the ownership ranks of the Las Vegas Raiders while investment firm Arctos expanded its growing footprint across the league with a stake in the Cleveland Browns.

Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro — the CEO and president respectively of TKO Group Holdings, parent company of UFC and WWE — acquired minority interests in the Raiders as part of a major reshuffle of the franchise’s ownership structure that emerged from the sale of First Football’s entire 25.3 percent Raiders holding, a transaction that reportedly valued the franchise at approximately $9.9bn.

According to multiple reports, Emanuel acquired a 1.4 percent stake while Shapiro purchased 0.6 percent, joining a new-look investor group that also includes Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and Blackstone executive Joseph Baratta. Existing Raiders stakeholders Egon Durban and Michael Meldman also increased their positions.

The developments further strengthen the growing overlap between the NFL, entertainment conglomerates and institutional investment money.

TKO’s increasing interest in mainstream sports ownership arrives as the company continues to expand beyond combat sports following the 2023 merger of WWE and UFC under the Endeavor umbrella. The Raiders, meanwhile, have increasingly become a magnet for high-profile investors since relocating to Las Vegas. Former quarterback Tom Brady previously acquired a minority stake in the franchise alongside Knighthead Capital founder Tom Wagner.

At the same time, private equity firm Arctos Partners continued its aggressive expansion strategy inside the NFL after securing approval for an initial three percent investment in the Browns as part of a broader agreement expected to eventually reach 10 percent.

Arctos already owns minority interests in the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers, making it the most active private equity player currently operating inside NFL ownership circles. The Browns investment is also closely tied to the franchise’s proposed new stadium development, with ownership reportedly seeking additional liquidity as costs continue to rise around the planned Huntington Bank Field project.

The NFL only formally opened the door to institutional private equity investment in 2024, allowing approved firms to acquire up to 10 percent of franchises in non-controlling positions. The league framed the policy as a mechanism to improve liquidity and franchise stability while maintaining traditional ownership structures. Still, the rapid expansion of firms such as Arctos — combined with increasing crossover from entertainment and media executives — has intensified debate about the long-term direction of NFL ownership and whether the league is gradually shifting away from the traditional family-controlled model that defined much of its history.