The New York Yankees on Tuesday announced a $2.6 billion financing agreement with Marc Rowan’s Apollo Sports Capital in a deal touted as fueling growth at the MLB giant and keeping the Steinbrenner family in control.
The agreement, which mixes credit and equity, marks one of the largest private capital infusions into a baseball franchise in recent years. The transaction is expected to close in the coming days.
Apollo Sports Capital CEO Al Tylis will join the Yankee Global Enterprises board, with the board expanded by one seat to make room for him. Hal Steinbrenner will remain managing general partner and continue as the team’s MLB control person.
It was not clear whether the deal will enable the Yankees to ramp up their investments in players, as many fans hope.
“We welcome Apollo to the Yankees family,” Steinbrenner said in a statement. “We are continually seeking ways to strengthen our positioning, and this partnership allows us to explore pursuing strategic opportunities.”
Tylis called the Yankees one of the most iconic franchises in sports.
“We look forward to supporting the organization’s continued pursuit of excellence and the championship standard that has long been the hallmark of the New York Yankees,” he said.
The financing comes as the Yankees seek fresh capital for operations and expansion. Yankee Global Enterprises, the holding company for the Yankees, also holds stakes in the YES Network, Legends Hospitality, Major League Soccer’s New York City FC and Italy’s AC Milan. Officials said the new money can support those businesses, as well.
Major League Baseball limits any single private equity fund to a 15% ownership stake in a club. The exact equity portion Apollo will hold was not disclosed. Forbes valued the Yankees at $8.5 billion earlier this year.
Apollo Sports Capital operates as a permanent capital platform of Apollo Global Management, which manages about $1.05 trillion in assets. The firm has expanded its sports portfolio in recent years, taking a controlling stake in Spanish club Atlético Madrid in 2025.
The new deal gives the Yankees greater financial flexibility at a time when franchise values across professional sports continue to climb.
Steinbrenner and his family have owned the team since paterfamilias George Steinbrenner led a group that purchased it from CBS for $10 million in 1973.
The deal closes a chapter of private talks that began earlier this year. Both sides described the outcome as a strong fit between a storied franchise and a capital partner built specifically for sports.
Yankee Global Enterprises and Apollo Sports Capital said they expect the relationship to deepen over time as the parties explore additional opportunities together.