Tottenham’s deal with the NFL has exposed the club to wealthy investors across the US.
A US consortium led by tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick made an approach to buy Spurs last month.
Tottenham responded to the takeover approach after releasing a statement insisting they had “unequivocally rejected” an informal expression of interest from Earick, who has confirmed he will not be making a formal bid.
However, Football Insider revealed on 26 September Tottenham’s owners could be open to a deal that would see the owner of an NFL franchise invest in the club.
Spurs’ existing contract with the NFL is understood to be an important element for potential investors, with a minimum of two games played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium each year.
Could US investor pursue Tottenham takeover deal?
The first NFL game was held at Tottenham’s 62,850-capacity facility when the Chicago Bears took on the Oakland Raiders in October 2019 – just months after it opened.
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There has recently been speculation around whether Tottenham could host the Super Bowl in the future.
Spurs’ chances of bringing a Super Bowl Sunday to north London would no doubt be improved if a US-based investor were to pursue a takeover deal.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider Reach plc’s NFL reporter Charlie Wilson admitted he wouldn’t be surprised to see an NFL owner invest in Tottenham.
“Maybe they could be interested,” said Wilson.
“I mean, we’ve seen with the York family, who own San Francisco 49ers, now own Leeds United. The Boston Red Sox are owned by Fenway Sports Group, who own Liverpool as well.
“We see a lot of American owners dipping into the Premier League. That has been the case for 20 years now, but it’s definitely become more prevalent. We’ve got Tom Brady at Birmingham and obviously J.J. Watt at Burnley. The Glazers own Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I think that’s more of a case of the Premier League growing in America as well. The Premier League has grown exponentially, and football in general has grown massively in America.”
Tottenham’s owners value the club at around £4.5billion following speculation around a potential takeover deal.
ENIC owns an 86.91 per cent stake in Spurs, while former executive chairman Daniel Levy and members of his family hold a 29.88 per cent share in the British investment company, and Joe Lewis’s family trust own the remaining 70.12 per cent.
Walmart heir could invest in Tottenham
Wilson believes American billionaires could look to invest in Tottenham if they fail in their bids to buy US sports franchises.
“I’ve not heard anything about the Tottenham ownership, but it wouldn’t surprise me,” said Wilson.
“There’s a lot of money over there. Whenever a team comes up recently, like an NBA team or an NFL team, there’s not a short list of American billionaires who are trying to buy these teams now.
“I would imagine if they fail in their bids for let’s say the Milwaukee Bucks, who were sold recently, these billionaires who have got this money burning a hole in their pocket could be like, ‘Well, we can have a look at Tottenham’, so it wouldn’t surprise me.
“The Denver Broncos, for example, their owners own Walmart, so we’re talking tens, if not hundreds of billions. They could easily be guys who could look at Tottenham and be like, ‘Yeah, we could do it. There are ties to the NFL, they’ve signed a multi-year deal to play games there, we could exploit that market’. I could definitely see that happening.”
The Denver Broncos were taken over in 2022 for £3.7bn by Walmart heir Rob Walton and his family, who have a net worth of around £94bn, according to Forbes.
The latest NFL game at Tottenham’s stadium saw the Broncos beat the New York Jets 13-11 on 12 October.