Across the portfolio, Joe Tsia has used 4 different ways to make money from sport.
The Nets and Dolphins, alongside his former LAFC stake, put him inside leagues where very few franchises ever come onto the market. A large part of the return comes from scarcity: limited team supply, rising media revenue and a growing pool of wealthy and institutional buyers competing for access.
The Liberty started from a different place. Tsai bought an existing franchise whose commercial potential had barely been developed. Investment in talent, facilities, marketing and sponsorship, combined with the move into Barclays Center, gave the team the infrastructure to turn growing demand into revenue.
With PLL, SailGP, professional flag football and AUBL, he is investing much earlier. The leagues, audiences and franchise markets are still taking shape. The upside comes from helping build sports properties which could eventually become scarce assets of their own.
Then there is the business around the fan. JWS, HomeCourt, G2, Fanatics and Golden Goose give Tsai exposure to media, training technology, gaming, merchandise and consumer spending without requiring another team acquisition.
The sports may look unrelated. Where Tsai chooses to enter the economics of each one is what connects the portfolio.