On Friday afternoon, Sportico broke the news that David Blitzer was in advanced talks to sell control of both Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals. Should that happen in the coming weeks, it would be a rarity in American sports.
The last MLS team to sell was … Real Salt Lake, to Blitzer in January of 2022. According to Sportico’s data, it’s been nearly 30 years since a single franchise accounted for consecutive sales in any major U.S. league.
The last time it happened was under very different circumstances. In October 1996, John Spano agreed to buy the New York Islanders for $165 million. He assumed control of the team, but the deal fell apart when it became apparent that he lied about his wealth and couldn’t pay. He later pled guilty to theft and forgery charges, and the team sold again less than a year later.
Since Blitzer bought Real Salt Lake, teams have sold in every other major U.S. league, including two in the NFL and three in the NBA. That Blitzer remains MLS’ newest owner more than three years after buying into the league shows the slow pace of control sales in MLS. His acquisition came right on the heels of two other sales—both the Houston Dynamo and Orlando City SC sold in the months prior.
There have been plenty of LP transactions since then, including some at record valuations, but no control stakes have changed hands. That’s perhaps most notable in MLS, where minority stakes tend to trade at a premium to the control stake, the reverse of what’s common in most other major leagues.
There are plenty of possible reasons for this gap in MLS sales. Some suspect the market isn’t there for buyers at current valuations. Others point to next year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S. MLS and its owners have long pointed to that tournament as a potential catalyst for a new wave of soccer’s growth in America. That bump is already priced into valuations, which hold value-to-revenue multiples higher than any major league besides the NBA.
Blitzer’s group, which includes Jazz owner Ryan Smith, bought Real Salt Lake for nearly $400 million. The club is currently worth $525 million, according to Sportico’s MLS valuations. That number includes the NWSL’s Royals, which Blitzer revived in 2023 with a pre-set expansion fee of roughly $2 million. The Royals are now worth $70 million, per Sportico’s NWSL valuations, meaning a good deal of the group’s appreciation in the past few years has come via its women’s team.
While Blitzer has owned the Royals for less time than he’s owned Real Salt Lake, he’s nowhere near the NWSL’s newest owner. Almost the entire league ownership has turned over in the past few years, including team sales and new expansion franchises.
Blitzer is in talks to sell both Utah soccer teams to the Miller family, the former owners of the Jazz, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations. Representatives for Blitzer and Real Salt Lake declined to comment. A representative for the Larry H. Miller Co. didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Real Salt Lake isn’t the only MLS team in sales talks. The Vancouver Whitecaps hired Goldman Sachs last year to explore a potential sale. The Whitecaps are worth $470 million, according to Sportico’s MLS valuations, the second lowest total in the league.
With assistance from Kurt Badenhausen.