LeBron James And The Yankees Buy Into AC Milan, The Italian Soccer Club Valued At About $1.2B

According to reports, the announcement signals that “the world’s most valuable baseball team and second highest-paid athlete are taking a stake in the 14th most valuable soccer franchise.”

As previously reported by AfroTech, the billionaire secured his spot on Forbes’ list of the 10 Highest-Paid Athletes after making an estimated $121.2 million in 2021 thanks to basketball, the “Space Jam” reboot, endorsement deals, and more.

Joining private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, Yankees Global Enterprises — the baseball team’s investment arm — and the James-backed Main Street Advisors have formed a dynamic partnership. The outlet details that the AC Milan takeover is worth $1.2 billion while the Yankees are valued at $6 billion.

Before the partnership, RedBird Capital took stakes in James’ SpringHill — the production company worth approximately $300 million that James started with his longtime friend Maverick Carter — and Fenway Sports Group, the ownership group in which he became a partner with Carter in 2021. The move made the two its first Black partners. 

“I think for me and for my partner, Maverick, to be the first two Black men to be a part of that ownership group in the history of that franchise, I think it’s pretty damn cool,” James said in March 2021. “It gives me and people that look like me hope and inspiration that they can be in a position like that as well, that it can be done. It gives my kids at my I Promise School more and more inspiration as well.”

The move secured him an ownership stake in its subsidiaries including Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club of the English Premier League, Roush Fenway Racing, and more.

In November 2021, James added the Pittsburgh Penguins to his portfolio after FSG and its partners made the purchase of $900 million for the National Hockey League team, as previously reported by AfroTech.