Rashaun Williams And Steve Cannon Joined By Mark Cuban In $750M Sports Fund To Back NFL, NBA, MLB Teams
Mark Cuban is stepping into a new game — this time alongside leaders working to reshape the face of professional sports ownership.
According to Bloomberg, the billionaire entrepreneur and former Dallas Mavericks majority owner has been named a general partner in Harbinger Sports Partners Fund, a newly launched $750 million private equity fund targeting minority stakes in legacy U.S. sports franchises.
The fund is co-founded and led by Rashaun Williams, a venture investor and limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons, and Steve Cannon, former CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Falcons and soccer club Atlanta United FC, Bloomberg reports. Per the outlet, Harbinger is focusing on investments in teams across the NFL, NBA, and MLB.
Williams, Cannon, and Cuban together bring operational experience, league relationships, and deal flow access to the table, significant factors that could set the fund apart from other institutional players entering the sports world.
Cuban’s involvement also adds financial and strategical firepower, as he recently invested in Beanstack, a Black-led edtech company, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
Harbinger plans to make investments ranging from $50 million to $150 million while using secondary offerings to exit within seven to 10 years, Bloomberg reports. It also states that the fund is structured to acquire up to 5% stakes in teams, aligning with recent league rule changes that now permit institutional investors to hold multiple minority positions.
The NFL, which only approved private equity investment last year, allows funds to hold minority stakes in up to six teams, per NFL’s website. In addition, the NBA caps the number at five franchises, with a 20% maximum per team, while MLB has no team-count limit but restricts funds to 15% per club.
With Cannon’s stadium expertise, Harbinger also brings value in large-scale infrastructure planning, as he previously oversaw the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.
As sports franchises evolve into multi-platform media and tech enterprises, Harbinger is positioning itself at the center of the transformation.
