Sports investing

Sports team ownership is hot right now. It's just about the only television programming that still brings in viewers and ad dollars.

It's no wonder then, that we're getting new leagues such as the Pro Volleyball Federation, LOVB, and Unrivaled. Streaming services such as Netflix and Prime are also trying to get a piece of the sports broadcasting rights pie.

Sports teams, like any business, create wealth for their owners. According to a recent episode of WSJ's Take on the Week, sports team valuations have compounded by 16% annually on average per year for the last 10 years.

Most teams in most leagues are privately held. But some sports teams and brands are publicly-traded. In other cases, they're owned by a publicly-traded corporation. Owning shares in these companies can (potentially) create wealth for you.

DISCLAIMER: Rememer that I am not a financial professional, and this is not financial advice. Here's a list.

Atlanta Braves Holdings

Ticker symbols: BATRA and BATRK. My least-favorite baseball team is a publicly-traded one. As you may have guessed from the multiple ticker symbols, Atlanta Braves Holdings has two different classes of stock trading in public markets. Class A shares (BATRA) grants you voting rights. Class C shares do not.

Bayer AG

Ticker symbol: BAYRY. I know you're thinking "Tiffany, why is a pharmaceutical company on this list?" Well Bayer AG, the pharmaceutical company, owns Bayer 04 Leverkusen, the soccer club. Leverkusen is part of Germany's Bundesliga.

Formula One Group

Ticker symbols: FWONA and FWONK. Formula One Group, as the name indicates, produces Formula 1 racing events. The group also holds the rights to FIA Formula One world championship. As with Atlanta Braves Holdings, class C shares (FWONK) are non-voting shares.

Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.

Ticker symbol MSGS. Madison Square Garden Sports owns the New York Knickerbockers of the NBA, and the New York Rangers of the NHL. Much to my own personal chagrin, holding shares of MSGS will not give you any leverage to oust James Dolan. Dolan owns 70% of the company's voting shares. You can, however, take advantage of its price appreciation (if any).

Manchester United

Ticker symbol: MANU. Unlike some of the other teams and leagues mentioned in this piece, you can own shares of Manchester United directly, instead of buying shares of a parent company. Besides owning the team, Manchester United Plc also owns Old Trafford, Man United's home stadium and other real estate.

Rogers Communications

Ticker symbol: RCI. Rogers Communications is a Canadian telecommunications company, with headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Rogers also owns the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League baseball and their home stadium, Rogers Centre. It also holds a 37.5% ownership stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. Maple Leaf owns the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto Raptors (NBA), Toronto FC (MLS), and the Argonauts of the Canadian Football League as well as the venues for all of those teams.

Volkswagen AG

Ticker symbol: VLKAF. Similar to Bayer and Rogers, this is a roundabout way to buy into VfL Wolfsburg, a Bundesliga soccer club. I personally think Volkswagen is an interesting buy due to its EV lineup. Shares of Volkswagen also get you a portion of VfL Wolfsburg as a treat. Keep in mind that Volkswagen AG is traded "over the counter" in the United States.

Teams are not the only way to invest in sports. Sports betting is another strategy. I'm not suggesting complicated parlay bets, obviously. But shares of sports book companies let you invest in the sports ecosystem.

DraftKings and GAN Limited are two options here. For greater diversification, consider the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (Ticker symbol: BETZ) instead.