Tom Gores, a private equity billionaire, has agreed to acquire a 27% stake in the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League for $750 million, based on an enterprise valuation of $4 billion, as reported by two anonymous sources familiar with the transaction. This valuation represents over a 30% discount compared to the team’s value of $5.83 billion as stated in CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations. Typically, limited partners, who do not have control of a team, receive about a 20% to 25% discount in such deals.
Gores appears to have secured a larger discount because his purchase involves a significant portion of the team—27%, just below the 30% needed to qualify as a controlling owner. However, his role will remain that of a limited partner without any operational control.
The transaction involves a “flip tax” of 10% of the sale amount, which will be paid by the seller and distributed among the other 31 teams in the league. This agreement was made by the Chargers with the league in 2015 as part of their move to Los Angeles, similar to a deal involving the Las Vegas Raiders before their relocation from Oakland, California.
Gores will acquire the entire 24% stake previously owned by Dea Spanos Berberian and an additional 1% each from Dean, Alexis, and Michael Spanos, according to a source. Following the completion of the sale, Dean, Alexis, and Michael Spanos will collectively own 69% of the Chargers, while Gores and his wife, Holly, will hold 27%, and two longstanding limited partners will retain a combined 4%.
Dean Spanos will remain the controlling owner and chairman of the Chargers. The late Alex G. Spanos, Dean’s father, originally purchased the team in 1984 for $72 million. The transaction will also settle all of Berberian’s legal disputes with her siblings and the Chargers, which had been ongoing since 2021.
Tom Gores is also the owner of the National Basketball Association’s Detroit Pistons, having acquired the team for $325 million in 2011 through his firm, Platinum Equity, and later acquiring full ownership in 2015. The acquisition of the Chargers stake is a personal investment by Gores and is not connected to Platinum Equity. The NFL has refused to comment on the deal.
Gores seems to prefer renting over owning in terms of stadium economics. The Pistons play at Little Caesars Arena, managed by the Ilitch family, while the Chargers play in SoFi Stadium, owned by Stan Kroenke, who also owns the Los Angeles Rams. This arrangement means Gores avoids the financial and operational responsibilities of stadium ownership, with such expenses typically handled by the owners of the stadiums.
