Yankees' Valuation Revealed in New MLB Rumors After $2.6B Private Equity Investment Deal

The $2.6 billion investment in the New York Yankees from private equity firm Apollo Sports Capital has provided some insight about the MLB club's total value.

Per The Athletic's Evan Drellich, the deal values the Yankees at close to $10 billion.

This is right in line with the valuation from Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen released prior to the start of the 2026 season, which had the Yankees as the most valuable MLB club at $9.4 billion.

Drellich noted this "appears to be a record valuation for an MLB team in a realized transaction.

It's unclear how much of the Yankees that Apollo Sports Capital's $2.6 billion investment will cover, but MLB rules stipulate private equity can't own more than a 15 percent stake in a franchise.

MLB was the first of the three major North American men's sports leagues to allow private equity investment in a franchise, doing so in 2019. The NBA followed suit starting in 2020. The NFL waited until 2024 to approve a change.

Under the terms of the Yankees' deal with Apollo Sports Capital, the Steinbrenner family maintains full control of the franchise. Apollo Sports CEO Al Tylis will be added to the team's board and refinance existing debt.

The Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are the only two MLB clubs that rank among the top 20 most valuable sports franchises. New York comes in at No. 18, followed by Los Angeles at No. 20.

NFL teams occupy 15 of the top 20 spots. The Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks own the three remaining slots.

The record sale price for an MLB franchise was set in May when the family of Peter Seidler agreed to sell the San Diego Padres to a group led by Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano for $3.9 billion.

The Steinbrenner family has owned the Yankees since 1973 when George Steinbrenner was part of a group that purchased the franchise from CBS for $10 million.