In the process of remaking Chelsea, Todd Boehly is causing some of the club’s supporters to become angry.
However, while Boehly is working to steer his club back into the Champions League, the co-owner of the Blues and the Los Angeles Dodgers is having even more significant thoughts about the future of the Premier League.
Boehly provided a fascinating ‘what-if’ answer when he was asked about his current perspective on a purchase of Chelsea in 2022 that would total £4.25 billion, including £2.5 billion for the team. This answer brought together the National Football League, Netflix, and the Premier League.
The statement was made by Boehly on Thursday at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London. “I think as an investor in sports and sports clubs and the ability to really drive emotions and outcomes, and I think that the top brands are well equipped to continue to grow in value,” Boehly said.
“If you take a look at the National Football League, the NFL is probably worth a total of $200 billion. A trade of $400 billion is made by Netflix.
If you had to choose between owning the National Football League (NFL) at a price of 200 billion dollars or Netflix at a price of 400 billion dollars, choose the NFL. And if I had to guess, I’d suggest that I’d rather own the National Football League.
Simply put, they are going to keep producing content that is absolutely incredible. Ninety-seven percent of the most popular broadcasts in the United States are games from the National Football League. They accomplish this by themselves in such a way that they kind of drive viewership.
In addition to aiming for $25 billion in annual revenue by the year 2027, the National Football League is increasingly becoming a global sport.
It is estimated that the Premier League, which is the highest level of the English Football League pyramid, brings in an annual revenue of approximately $7 billion, which is lower than that of the NBA and MLB.
With the advent of international streaming platforms that were unimaginable ten years ago, such as Netflix and Amazon, the National Football League (NFL) is now expanding its reach across continents.
New Orleans was the location of the league’s most recent Super Bowl week, during which it once again put on the most spectacular show in the world. Additionally, the league announced that it will be holding international games in Melbourne, Australia, and Dublin, Ireland.
During a press conference, the commissioner of the National Football League, Roger Goodell, admitted that organising an international Super Bowl is a component of the league’s long-term expansion strategy.
According to Goodell, “global is something that we are intent on becoming — a sport that is played all over the world.”
During his explanation of his current perspective on his Chelsea purchase, Boehly made it abundantly clear that he would prefer to have the $200 billion National Football League (NFL) in his financial portfolio rather than the $400 billion Netflix. He drew on this comparison.
According to Boehly, who is the co-founder and chairman of Eldridge Industries and has a net worth that is estimated to be $8.5 billion, “If you look at football in Europe, I think there’s an evolution that’s going to go on,” Boehly said.
Based on my observations, I believe that the stadiums were constructed with a utilitarian mindset… There is going to be a continuous development of both the product and the offering that you will see.
The ability to continue to grow revenue will undoubtedly be strengthened as a result of this, as I believe that in the end, if you are able to continue to grow revenue, you will continue to grow value.
“So ultimately there’s a little bit of an unorganised landscape in European football, which reminds me a little bit of what’s going on in the RSN (regional sports networks) markets in America.”
Shohei Ohtani was acquired by Boehly’s Dodgers from their cross-town rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, in December 2023 for a record-breaking amount of seven hundred million dollars. This transaction stunned the baseball world.
Following their victory over the New York Yankees in the 2024 World Series by a score of 4-1, the Los Angeles Dodgers will begin the new Major League Baseball season with a payroll that is the highest in the league at $321 million.
Additionally, Boehly made a connection between the process by which the Dodgers constructed an annual World Series contender and the ongoing remake that Chelsea is undergoing.
Since his purchase in 2022, the Blues have made player transfers totalling more than one billion pounds and been responsible for the dismissal of three permanent managers.
On Tuesday, a group of Chelsea supporters held a demonstration march on their way to Stamford Bridge. They pleaded with Boehly and his consortium to sell the club, which is currently ranked fifth in the Premier League.
“If you look at the Dodgers, we won the World Series last year and had an amazing offseason,” Boehly explained to reporters.
If you truly want to be building something that is the best or top, then you need to make sure that you don’t take any breaks, right?
“Because even if you’re building the best, what are your odds of winning it all every year, given that there’s 20 or 32 or 30 (teams), because everyone wants to win?”
Regarding the demonstrations that took place prior to Chelsea’s 4-0 victory over Southampton at home, Boehly was adamant that he is not interested in looking backward and that he is focused on moving forward with Chelsea.
“The sooner you learn you are not going to keep all the people happy all the time, the freedom shows up,” he explained to me.
