The New England Patriots have reached an agreement to sell an 8% stake in the franchise at a valuation exceeding $9 billion, according to multiple people familiar with the details. The buyers are Sixth Street and billionaire Dean Metropoulos.

Sixth Street is buying 3%, while Metropoulos will own 5%. The Kraft family will still own more than 90% of the Patriots. The funds are expected to be reinvested into the franchise, and it does not include MLS’ New England Revolution, which the Kraft family also owns.

The Patriots declined to comment, while Sixth Street and Metropoulos did not immediately return attempts to comment. Sports Business Journal was the first to report the agreement.

It would be the second-richest valuation ever for an NFL team after the Koch family’s agreement to buy 10% of the New York Giants, which values the team at more than $10 billion. The Koch-Giants deal is also set to be voted on in October, as well as a third transaction where the San Francisco 49ers are selling an LP stake at an $8.6 billion valuation, the same as their sale of 6% last year.

The Chicago Bears just closed a 2% transaction at an $8.8 billion valuation that did not require a full owner vote, because the buyers were two existing owners, the McCaskey and Ryan families. The NFL’s finance committee signed off on the deal.

This is the first NFL deal for Sixth Street, which is one of the firms approved last year for NFL ownership. The private equity firm, which has more than $100 billion in assets under management, has pushed hard into sports in recent years.

Sixth Street began investing in sports in 2021, when it purchased 51% ownership of Legends, the events and hospitality business started by the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees. The Cowboys and the Yankees remain co-owners.

Sixth Street’s portfolio includes LaLiga giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, as well a 20% stake in the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs. It is the majority owner of the NWSL’s Bay FC. In 2025, it bought a stake in MLB’s San Francisco Giants and was part of the investment consortium led by Bill Chisholm that paid $6.1 billion for the NBA’s Boston Celtics.

Other PE firms that have bought NFL stakes since the league opened the door to such investments in 2024 include Arctos Partners (Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers) and Ares Management, which purchased 10% of the Miami Dolphins at an $8.1 billion valuation.

The Kraft family has owned the Patriots since 1994, paying a then-record $172 million for the team. After flirting with a move to Connecticut, the Patriots opened the privately financed Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., in 2002, which coincided with the start of the Patriots’ dynasty. The family then constructed Patriot Place, a 1.3 million-square-foot district with shopping, dining and entertainment around the stadium, setting a new standard for mixed-use development projects by NFL teams.

The Patriots have made 10 Super Bowls under Kraft ownership and won six titles.

Last month, the Patriots were valued at $8.76 billion in Sportico’s NFL team valuations. It ranked fourth in the NFL, behind the Dallas Cowboys ($12.8 billion), the Los Angeles Rams ($10.43 billion) and the Giants ($10.25 billion).