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Family offices bet on sports, from pickleball leagues to smart soccer balls

Cnbc · · 396 words · By Hayley Cuccinello
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What to know about Family offices bet on sports, from pickleball leagues to smart soccer balls

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer.

Claims checked 10
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer.

Why it matters

Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.

Common ground

Last month, investment firms of the ultra wealthy went all-in on sports and played on multiple fronts.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/05/family-office-sport-investments.html

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 7
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
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Claim 1: “Dell is also a minority investor in the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and the Austin Gamblers, a professional bull riding team.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Michael Dell is a minority owner of the San Antonio Spurs (since 2021) and the Austin Gamblers.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the San Antonio Spurs National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association franchise.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs_all-time_ros…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sixth Street (formerly known as TSSP) is an American investment firm founded in 2009, based in San Francisco, California. The firm operates nine investment platforms across its growth investing, adjac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Street_Partners
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1995–96 San Antonio Spurs season was the 20th season for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association, and their 29th season as a franchise. The city of San Antonio, Texas hosted t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995–96_San_Antonio_Spurs_seas…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “A Goldman Sachs survey released last fall found that 25% of family offices have invested in sports or related assets like ticketing or arenas and another quarter are interested in doing so.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report the Goldman Sachs survey finding that 25% of family offices have invested in sports/related assets and another 25% are interested.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... A Goldman Sachs survey released last fall found that 25% of family offices have ... interested in doing so. Asides from love of the game ...
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/05/family-office-sport-investme…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 30, 2026 ... ... interested in doing so. Asides from love of the game ... A Goldman Sachs survey found that 25% of family offices have already invested ...
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tylermwebb_sid-balaga-and-sur…
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web search NEUTRAL — So, while family offices have increasingly hired institutional investment specialists in recent ... assets remain very much a minority interest among family ...
https://www.privatebank.citibank.com/doc/family-office/2025-…
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Claim 3: “Michael Dell, as part of an investor group led by Silver Lake's Egon Durban, bought a 25% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders football team.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple news sources report that Michael Dell, as part of a group led by Egon Durban, purchased a minority stake (reported as 25%) in the Las Vegas Raiders.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 season. The draft was held outside of Union Station in Kansas …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_NFL_draft
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team currently and temporarily based in West Sacramento, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletics_(baseball)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Las Vegas Sands Corp. is an American casino and resort company with corporate headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Sheldon G. Adelson and his partners out of the Sands Hotel and Casino…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Vegas_Sands
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “The UK startup [PlayerData] makes GPS-enabled vests and soccer balls that help athletes track their performance.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding the specific products (GPS vests and soccer balls) made by PlayerData.
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Claim 5: “Adelman is a part-owner of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, English Premier League club Crystal Palace and the New Jersey Devils ice hockey team and an investor in sports merchandise giant Fanatics.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm David Adelman's ownership stakes in the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Crystal Palace. While Fanatics is not explicitly mentioned in the provided snippets, the team ownership is well-corroborated.
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web search NEUTRAL — He covers the nuances of sports investing vis-a-vis his ownership stakes in the Philadelphia ’76ers, the New Jersey Devils, the Washington Commanders, and Premier League football team (a.k.a., soccer)…
https://thewallstreetskinny.com/david-adelman-from-this-week…
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web search NEUTRAL — David Adelman, part owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, describes how the team’s proposed arena would replace a portion of the Fashion District mall and the Greyhound bus terminal.
https://whyy.org/articles/new-details-emerge-about-sixers-pr…
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web search NEUTRAL — I interviewed David Adelman, a private equity mogul and owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, and I asked: -If everyone is built for entrepreneurship.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/the-school-of-hard-knocks-llc…
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Claim 6: “Crystal Palace, for instance, uses the vests and smart soccer balls in training its academy players.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding Crystal Palace's use of PlayerData products in their academy.
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Claim 7: “At the beginning of May, billionaire Tom Dundon's namesake family office partnered with Apollo's new sports fund to invest $225 million in Pickleball Inc., the parent company of Major League Pickleball and the PPA Tour.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that Tom Dundon's family office partnered with Apollo's sports fund to invest $225 million in Pickleball Inc. in early May.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 14, 2026 ... One notable deal involved billionaire Tom Dundon. His family office partnered with Apollo's new sports fund to invest $225 million in Pickleball ...
https://www.facebook.com/cnbc/posts/last-month-investment-fi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 5, 2026 ... At the beginning of May, billionaire Tom Dundon's namesake family office partnered with Apollo's new sports fund to invest $225 million in ...
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/05/family-office-sport-investme…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 14, 2026 ... One notable deal involved billionaire Tom Dundon. His family office partnered with Apollo's new sports fund to invest $225 million in Pickleball ...
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/cnbc_last-month-investment-fi…
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Claim 8: “Family offices made 51 direct investments in companies in May, holding steady from April's deal tally, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by Fintrx, a private wealth intelligence platform.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results cite Fintrx data stating family offices made 51 direct investments in May, matching the April total.
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web search NEUTRAL — In October, family offices made 51 direct investments, down 63% on an annual basis, according to data provided exclusively to CNBC by private wealth platform Fintrx.
https://economic-news.space/2025/business/family-offices-mak…
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web search NEUTRAL — According to data from wealth intelligence platform Fintrx, family offices completed 51 direct investments in May, matching April’s total.
https://futurefamilyoffice.net/news/family-offices-double-do…
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web search NEUTRAL — FINTRX profiles three family offices making direct investments in healthcare and biotechnology companies. Three Family Offices Investing in Healthcare & Biotechnology. FINTRX Family Office Database.
https://fintrx.medium.com/
verified
Claim 9: “Dundon is already an owner of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team and the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and official team profiles confirm Tom Dundon owns the Carolina Hurricanes and has acquired the Portland Trail Blazers.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Portland Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team in the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Trail Blazers are owned by Thomas Dundon. His predecessor, Jody Alle…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Portland_Trail_…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Trail_Blazers
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Thomas Dundon (born September 5, 1971) is an American billionaire businessman in financial services, real estate, and sports entertainment; he is chairman and managing partner of Dundon Capital Partne…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Dundon
+ 4 more evidence sources
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Claim 10: “In May, his investment firm Darco Capital co-led a $12 million Series A round for PlayerData along with David Blitzer's family office Bolt Ventures and venture capital firm Pentland Ventures.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Darco Capital, Bolt Ventures, and Pentland Ventures co-led a $12 million Series A round for PlayerData.
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web search NEUTRAL — Bolt Ventures, Darco Capital, Pentland Ventures. Series A.from a Series A round.Who are PlayerData's competitors? Alternatives and possible competitors to PlayerData may include Sportradar, Hudl, and …
https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/playerdata
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web search NEUTRAL — The round was led by Pentland Ventures, Darco Ventures, and Bolt Ventures, with new strategic investors including Tennis Australia and Kevin Durant's 35V.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/neveclark_playerdata-has-rais…
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web search NEUTRAL — The round was led by Pentland Ventures, Darco Capital and Bolt Ventures, with additional backing from Tennis Australia and Kevin Durant’s 35V.PlayerData has raised a $12 million Series A as it expands…
https://www.thesportsplaymaker.com/post/playerdata-raises-12…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.