Arctos Strikes Deal for 10% of Atlanta Falcons In Deal Valuing Team at More Than $10 Billion
Private equity firm Arctos has agreed to acquire a 10% stake in the Atlanta Falcons in a deal that values the NFL franchise at $10.6 billion, according to a new report.
The investment would give the Falcons a valuation well above the $8 billion figure CNBC assigned the team in September 2025, when it ranked 11th among the NFL’s 32 franchises.
The new valuation represents an increase of roughly 32.5% in less than a year. The transaction is expected to take place in two tranches over the next 18 months, CNBC reported. It remains subject to approval from NFL owners, who are expected to vote on the investment in October.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank, the co-founder of Home Depot, currently controls just under 73% of the franchise. It is not yet clear whether the entire 10% being acquired by Arctos will come from Blank’s holdings or whether some of the team’s existing limited partners will also sell shares.
Blank purchased the Falcons for $545 million in 2002. The $10.6 billion enterprise valuation attached to the proposed Arctos deal is more than 19 times what Blank paid for the franchise nearly 25 years ago.
The transaction also illustrates the extraordinary rise in NFL franchise values as institutional investors gain greater access to professional sports ownership. Arctos, which is now a business of KKR, specializes in minority investments and other private-market transactions, including sports ownership.
If the Falcons deal receives approval, Atlanta would become the fourth NFL franchise in which Arctos has invested, joining the Los Angeles Chargers, Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns.
The NFL only opened the door to private equity investment in team ownership in 2024, allowing a select group of approved firms to acquire passive minority stakes. The Falcons transaction would offer another indication of how quickly private capital has moved into the country’s most valuable sports league.
NFL valuations have continued to climb as franchises generate enormous revenue from media rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and stadium operations. Sportico’s 2026 rankings, released this month, estimated the average NFL franchise at $9.34 billion, up from $7.13 billion a year earlier. It valued the Falcons at $9.78 billion, making the $10.6 billion valuation in the Arctos transaction particularly notable.
The latest benchmark is also being influenced by the just-cleared sale of the Seattle Seahawks for an NFL-record $9.61 billion, a transaction the league is expected to consider this month. Atlanta’s soaring business value comes despite a lengthy period of frustration on the field. The Falcons have never won a Super Bowl and missed the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season in 2025.
The organization responded by restructuring its football operations this year. Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was hired in January as president of football, a newly created position.
Falcons CEO Greg Beadles told CNBC in July that the team’s commercial performance has remained strong even as its football results have disappointed. “Despite average performance on the field the last several years, our business has been really strong,” Beadles said.
“We had our best business year that we’ve had last year, as a matter of fact.” The Falcons also have another major event on the horizon. Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the team’s Atlanta home, is scheduled to host the Super Bowl in 2028.
