Sports
Wetzel: Beware, college sports, private equity has arrived
The University of Utah approved a groundbreaking private equity deal Tuesday that promised hundreds of millions of dollars for the school’s athletic department, which like nearly every athletic department in the country is running an annual deficit.
This was a historic vote. The Utes need money. Otro Capital of New York, a firm that seeks investments in sports, sees an opportunity. The company is offering more than $400 million to the school, a source told ESPN, plus Otro’s operational expertise, to generate new revenue streams for the department.
“I think we can go from surviving to thriving,” Utah trustee Bassam Salem said before the vote, echoing the optimism of the moment. He then expressed the shared concern: “Are there risks? Yes. Am I concerned? Yes.”
Everyone should be; not just at Utah but across college athletics, where deals like these are expected to become more common.
The core problem though, which the smart folks in private equity have certainly realized, is this:
College athletics doesn’t have a revenue problem.
It has a spending problem.
Even as revenue goes up and up from richer media deals, expanded playoffs and modernized operations, costs continue to soar because of revenue sharing with athletes, coaching salaries, increased travel and debt on ever-more opulent stadiums and locker rooms.
At some point, spending has to be addressed. Private equity firms, renowned for acquiring investments with an eye toward cutting costs, consolidating and reselling for a profit, are likely to do it with a different mindset than college administrators.
An Otro spokesman declined comment on this deal, which isn’t expected to close until 2026.
Typically, though, it would seem that private equity companies aren’t really interested in college athletics — which lose money at nearly every school — but rather college football and, to a lesser degree, men’s college basketball, both of which turn significant profits at the major level.
Utah athletics, for example, lost $17 million in fiscal 2024 after spending $126.8 million against $109.8 million in revenue, per school documents. That’s a 15.8% deficit.
However, the Utes football program turned a $26.8 million profit. Men’s basketball followed at $2.6 million. The remaining 17 programs lost $21.2 million, per documents.
It’s Business 101: If costs need to be cut, then nonprofitable divisions get the axe, perhaps completely. In this case, that could mean Olympic sports teams.
Not everything at a university should have to make money, of course. Every school has a marching band. Yet that isn’t how private equity traditionally works — this is business, not academia. What’s the cost analysis on the clarinet section?
That’s the crossroads that is coming.
No one will say for certain whether sports will be scaled back or even cut, and perhaps they won’t be, especially in the near term. Business is business though.
Final details of the Utah-Otro deal will be hashed out before closing in 2026. But the basics are this: In exchange for the cash infusion, Otro will get a minority share of the newly created, for-profit entity Utah Brands & Entertainment. The university’s foundation will own the majority.
That entity will handle sponsorships, NIL, ticket sales and other business-side items. The university’s argument is that Otro’s expertise will increase revenue. Utah, meanwhile, will control scheduling, hirings and firings and handling the student-athletes.
Utah was in the red despite, it noted, “ticket sales, number of donors, and total donations … [improving] year-over-year.” The department already collects $6.2 million in fees from students courtesy of a $82.69 per-semester charge, according to documents.
Essentially, something needed to be done.
“There’s equal risk of actually not doing anything,” school president Taylor Randall said at Tuesday’s meeting.
So Utah is getting a cash infusion and some operational expertise in exchange for … ?
That’s the question.
Utah says it will have governing control over Utah Brands & Entertainment. “Decisions regarding sports, coaches, scheduling, operations, student-athlete care and other athletics matters will remain solely with the athletics department,” athletic director Mark Harlan said.
Generally speaking, though, across college athletics, a business approach to an athletic department is going to lead to uncomfortable and previously politically-loaded conversations about cutting expenses.
That’s because no school has consistently managed to generate enough revenue to cover ever-rising costs.
Even mighty and massive Ohio State, which brought in $254.9 million of revenue in fiscal 2024 (or nearly 2.5 times the amount of Utah), according to school documents, ran a $37.7 million deficit while operating 32 athletic programs.
It’s one reason Ohio State supported a $2.4 billion private-capital deal between the Big Ten and UC Investments before the proposal stalled out last month because of opposition from Michigan and USC. Mark Bernstein, chair of Michigan’s Board of Regents aptly noted that until runaway spending was addressed, the deal was simply akin to a “payday loan.”
College athletics has done much of this to itself, mind you.
Costs have been out of control for decades. The facility “arms race” has been financially destructive everywhere. Leagues have expanded, causing spikes in travel for even the smallest of programs. Motivated by winning, almost no one has kept a latch on coaching salaries, buyouts or staff sizes — in football especially, but every program as well.
While there is certainly plenty of fat that can be cut from football or men’s basketball, those are the profitable divisions that generate the money that keeps everything potentially viable. While Title IX compliance remains a factor, the emotional decisions about the value of other teams have been kicked down the road.
It’s how not just Utah, but nearly everyone else, has gotten to the point that these deals look like a life preserver.
Yet private equity is, usually, motivated to turn a profit to recoup (and then some) its initial investment.
How long until they, unmoved by arguments about the ethereal value of, say, having a tennis team, or that swimmers work as hard as football players, don’t push for bottom-line decisions — namely some of these teams need to go?
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Zach Kram
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Kevin Pelton
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Kevin Pelton
ESPN Senior Writer
- Co-author, Pro Basketball Prospectus series
- Formerly a consultant with the Indiana Pacers
- Developed WARP rating and SCHOENE system
Multiple Authors
As the calendar turns to February, the 2026 NBA All-Star Game is just two weeks away. The starters were announced on Jan. 19 and include Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the West. Jalen Brunson, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tyrese Maxey were named the starters in the East.
The reserves were announced on Sunday, including Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Kevin Durant in the West, as well as Donovan Mitchell and Karl-Anthony Towns in the East.
ESPN NBA Insiders Zach Kram and Kevin Pelton break down the full East and West rosters, including biggest surprises and snubs, and make their bold predictions.
Which player were you most surprised to see on the roster?
Pelton: LeBron James is the clear choice, but seeing Karl-Anthony Towns pop up was surprising given the pessimism over how he’s played this season on top of the Knicks’ recent slump. I think teammate Mikal Bridges has been New York’s second-best player after starter Jalen Brunson. Given Towns’ track record, the choice is certainly reasonable yet surprising nonetheless.
Kram: LeBron. It sounds silly to be surprised that a player who had made the last 21 All-Star games would make it 22 in a row. But given that James missed the first month and that his counting stats are down in his age-41 season, as well as the fierce competition in the Western Conference player pool, it was a surprise that his was the last name unveiled during the All-Star roster announcement.
Which player were you most surprised to see left off?
Pelton: Kawhi Leonard. Unless this is a secret part of the punishment from the NBA’s investigation into Leonard’s endorsement deal with Aspiration, I don’t get it. Leonard has been a top-10 player this season, and following a dreadful start, the LA Clippers have been one of the league’s hottest teams since Christmas. Anthony Edwards was the only West reserve I would have picked over Leonard. If I was taking a multi-time Finals MVP playing in L.A., Leonard was an easy choice over James.
Kram: Alperen Sengun was a first-time All-Star last season, has improved as a defender and has better counting stats across the board this year while helping lead the Houston Rockets to the second-best point differential in the West. New Rocket Kevin Durant was a shoo-in, but I think Sengun should have given Houston a second All-Star representative, even if that meant Devin Booker missed out and the surprising Phoenix Suns didn’t get a single player on the team.
Are we getting close to enough international All-Stars to do a normal USA/World 12 vs. 12 game?
Pelton: We might be closer to even in terms of internationals than East vs. West. Some of the answer depends on how creative the NBA is willing to get with its definition of international. Donovan Mitchell made the case recently to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears that he’d like to represent Panama, where his grandmother was born. If the NBA pushed every possible case like that or Kyrie Irving (born in Australia, though he grew up in the U.S.), they could get to 12 without diluting the meaning of being an All-Star.
Kram: There are almost enough worthy international players to round out a 12-person roster; if that were the framework this season, the eight actual international All-Stars would likely be joined by Sengun, Lauri Markkanen, Franz Wagner (despite a lack of playing time) and Joel Embiid. (Embiid was born in Cameroon but plays for Team USA internationally; the NBA could also choose to slot Towns, who was born in New Jersey but plays for the Dominican Republic, as an international representative.) Josh Giddey, OG Anunoby and Dillon Brooks have outside cases as well.
However, those players largely don’t have better All-Star cases than the ninth-through-12th-best Americans, so I wouldn’t advocate such a consequential change just yet. Let’s see how the format works with three teams (two American, one international) this year before deciding if the NBA should change the All-Star format once again.
Give us one bold prediction for the All-Star Game/mini-tournament.
Pelton: The NBA enjoys a short-term benefit from changing the format. Drafting teams and introducing a target score (aka the “Elam ending”) resulted in more competitive games initially before devolving into the defense-free play we’ve seen since. I could see the international team in particular taking things seriously and forcing their American opponents to up their game. However, I don’t see this or anything else “fixing” the All-Star Game long-term.
Kram: Victor Wembanyama takes MVP honors. Big men rarely win this award at the All-Star game — it’s gone to a guard or wing in 13 of the last 15 years, with Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo as the lone exceptions — but Wembanyama is so competitive that he’ll gain an advantage just by taking the event seriously. In his first All-Star game last year, he led his team in scoring (11 points in seven minutes), and he and Chris Paul were disqualified for trying to exploit a loophole in the skills challenge.
Coach Álvaro Arbeloa admitted Jude Bellingham is “an important loss” after the midfielder was substituted just 10 minutes into Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday. The club confirmed on Sunday evening that the issue was with Bellingham’s left hamstring.
Kylian Mbappé scored a 100th-minute penalty to give Madrid the three points in LaLiga after a tough game which saw Rayo’s Jorge de Frutos level after Vinícius Júnior‘s early goal, before the visitors had two players sent off.
The Bernabéu crowd whistled the team pre-match — and again as they struggled during the second half — after Madrid’s midweek defeat at Benfica in the Champions League.
“We don’t know about Jude yet,” Arbeloa said in his post-match news conference, when asked about Bellingham’s injury.
The England international had gone down clutching his thigh after chasing a ball down the right wing with the game still goalless, and after being consoled by teammates, limped off the pitch, looking visibly upset and wiping away tears, as he was replaced by substitute Brahim Díaz.
“[Bellingham] has made a great effort in every game since I’ve been here,” Arbeloa said. “It’s a very important loss, but we have an extraordinary squad.”
Bellingham will now undergo tests to determine the extent of the problem.
The 22-year-old’s injury could be a major concern for England boss Thomas Tuchel ahead of Wembley friendlies against Uruguay and Japan next month.
Bellingham was one of the players — alongside Vinícius — singled out by some fans with whistles before the game, as their names were announced on the stadium loudspeakers.
Bellingham has had an injury-hit season, missing the early part of the campaign after undergoing shoulder surgery last summer.
– Mbappé scores last-gasp penalty as Real Madrid edge Rayo
– Mourinho on Benfica-Madrid in UCL: We got the king
“I respect the Bernabéu crowd, and I’ll always ask for their support,” Arbeloa said, when asked about the whistles.
Arbeloa insisted that Madrid hadn’t been fortunate to be given nine minutes of added time at the end of the second half, with their winning penalty being awarded in the 98th minute, and Mbappé scoring two minutes later.
“It could have been more,” Arbeloa said. “Every time visiting teams take a goal kick here, it takes a minute.”
The coach admitted that his team need to be more consistent, after a difficult start to his time in charge.
“I’m not Gandalf the White,” Arbeloa said, referring to the fictional wizard. “What I’m getting is what I wanted from my players: commitment and effort.”
Information from PA was used in this report.
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Josh Weinfuss
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Jordan Reid
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Jordan Reid
NFL draft analyst
- Jordan Reid is an NFL draft analyst for ESPN, providing in-depth scouting on the nation’s top pro prospects. Jordan joined ESPN in 2021 and also contributes to SportsCenter and ESPN Radio. He played quarterback at North Carolina Central University and then went on to coach there from 2014-18.
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Ben Solak
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Ben Solak
ESPN
- Ben Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.
Multiple Authors
TEMPE, Ariz. — After being without a head coach for almost a month, the Arizona Cardinals finally have their choice.
Arizona announced the hiring of 38-year-old Mike LaFleur on Sunday, ending a search that looked similar to previous ones by the Cardinals. As they were in 2023 when they hired Jonathan Gannon, they were once again the last team to make a hire after nine other head coaching vacancies were filled. And for the sixth time in the past 19 years, they hired a first-time NFL coach.
They also kept their pattern of alternating between offensive- and defensive-minded head coaches. LaFleur spent the past five seasons as an offensive coordinator, two with the New York Jets and three with the Los Angeles Rams. Gannon was a defensive-minded coach. He was preceded by Kliff Kingsbury, an offensive coach, who was preceded by Steve Wilks, a defensive coach, who was preceded by Bruce Arians, an offensive coach.
Arizona signed LaFleur to a five-year contract as he sets out to bring Arizona back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Cardinals reporter Josh Weinfuss and NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid break down what the hire could mean for quarterback Kyler Murray and for the Cardinals’ upcoming draft. And NFL analyst Ben Solak provides a grade.
Why Mike LaFleur?
Weinfuss: LaFleur is highly regarded around the league for his offensive acumen. And he represents a branch of the Sean McVay tree, which carries a great deal of cache.
LaFleur is the fourth McVay OC to become a head coach, joining Mike’s brother Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers, Kevin O’Connell of the Minnesota Vikings and Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The three others led their teams to the playoffs.
LaFleur runs a West Coast style of offense, which would be Murray’s third different offensive style in his eight NFL seasons — should he still be around come OTAs.
Did the Cards wait too long and miss out on the top choices?
Weinfuss: It’s hard to argue that they didn’t, but general manager Monti Ossenfort said during his postseason news conference that Arizona was going to take its time.
It might not have been a matter of waiting too long and missing out on their top choices for the Cardinals, as opposed to not being as attractive of a destination as other teams. That’s mainly because of uncertainty at quarterback, facilities that have consistently received low grades in the annual NFLPA report cards and an owner in Michael Bidwell who has been famously frugal.
Where waiting this long to hire a head coach can and, likely, will hurt the Cardinals will be in hiring a staff. With LaFleur being the last coach hired this cycle, his pool of assistants to hire has been shrinking by the day.
What does this mean for Murray’s future with the Cardinals?
Weinfuss: That’s still to be determined. Murray’s contract situation is well known: He’s under contract until 2028 and has already been guaranteed $39.8 million for 2026, so there are two possibilities for Murray: Let LaFleur pick his guy, which, as an offensive-minded head coach, may be the smartest move, or Bidwell will require Murray to stay on the roster because of all the money he’s paid him for this coming season.
LaFleur hasn’t always been dealt the easiest of hands with quarterbacks. In San Francisco, he had C.J. Beathard, Nick Mullens, Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer, and in New York he had Zach Wilson. Murray is a step above them talent wise, but LaFleur, who had a front-row seat for Matthew Stafford in Los Angeles the last three seasons, also has worked with an elite QB.
How can LaFleur boost his roster at No. 3 overall in the draft — and will the pick come on offense?
Reid: This roster needs help in multiple spots, so the Cardinals could go in a few different directions — and focus on either side of the ball.
Right tackle is one clear hole on the roster, and either Spencer Fano (Utah) or Francis Mauigoa (Miami) would make a lot of sense. Fano has great movement traits, while Mauigoa is a physical mauler.
But the Cardinals might instead look to add an edge rusher opposite Josh Sweat. Keep an eye on the powerful Rueben Bain Jr. (Miami) and explosive David Bailey (Texas Tech). They both know how to get after the QB; both players had 71 pressures in 2025, tied for second most in the FBS.
How would you grade this hire?
Solak: B-. The Cardinals — the last team to fill its head coaching vacancy — clearly did not get their preferred candidate, as they announced the hiring of LaFleur only minutes after it was reported that Klint Kubiak was taking the Raiders job.
LaFleur is a chip off the old Kyle Shanahan block, having spent time as the 49ers’ passing game coordinator under him before taking the offensive coordinator job with Robert Saleh and the Jets. LaFleur never got the plane off the ground with Zach Wilson in New York, and will now be in charge of another young quarterback’s developmental arc, assuming Arizona moves off Kyler Murray and onto a new signal-caller.
There’s a solid ceiling here, as LaFleur is from a prolific coaching tree. But it’s hard to get too excited about what feels like a very run-of-the-mill hire.
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