The NFL could soon vote on private equity buyouts of teams

The league has been meeting with several private equity firms this week in hopes of finalizing a framework to present to owners, people familiar with the matter said. After those meetings, league executives and owners feel confident enough to pitch a potential draft to other owners.

The NFL formed a committee last year to study how the league could allow private equity firms to buy teams. The group consists of its chairman, Kansas City Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, Denver Broncos owner and CEO Greg Penner and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.

Bloomberg reported in May that the owners were focusing on allowing institutional investors to be able to buy 10% of the clubs. Some owners would like the 5% cap. League owners would also select a small group of vetted firms to have the first opportunity to buy stakes.

The NFL has hired PJT Partners, an investment bank, to evaluate interest from private equity, Sportico reported. Firms under consideration include Arctos Partners LP, Ares Management Corp., Avenue Capital Group, Carlyle Group, Sixth Street and CVC Capital Partners, the people said. The league also held meetings with Blackstone and Dynasty Equity, according to Sportico.

The NFL would be the last major American professional sports league to approve team purchases by private equity firms. The NBA, whose teams are closest to the NFL in terms of valuation, allows private equity firms to buy up to 20 percent of a single franchise, and an NBA team can only have 30 percent of its ownership come from investors institutional.