Why More NFL, MLB And NBA Teams Are Not Publicly Traded

Only a handful of sports teams including the Major League Baseball team, Atlanta Braves, are public in the U.S. That's mainly due to strict league rules, tax advantages of private ownership and the financial scrutiny that comes with public disclosure. Instead, teams are increasingly turning to private equity and limited partnerships to raise capital, prompting the question of whether public ownership could ever become a thing in the future. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 1:31 Publicly traded teams 04:00 Pros and cons 08:29 The future of going IPO Produced and Edited by: Darren Geeter Animation: Jason Reginato, Josh Kalven Senior Managing Producer: Tala Hadavi Additional Footage: Getty Images Additional Sources: ESPN, Manchester United, Premier League, The Independent, NBA, NFL, MLB