The Illig family, which has owned Major League Soccer’s Sporting Kansas City since 2006, has agreed to sell a majority stake in the team to one of the club’s existing limited partners at an enterprise value of roughly $700 million, multiple league sources tell Forbes.
The price, which could wind up being slightly higher or lower based on the ultimate calculation of the franchise’s debt, is believed to be the highest for a majority stake in MLS’s history as the league prepares to kick off its 31st season in February. Last year, Forbes valued Sporting KC at $650 million, the 16th-best mark in the league.
Under the agreement, the Illigs will sell 71% of the team and reduce their stake to just under 10%, league sources say. The buyer in the transaction, whose identity could not be confirmed, will now own around 80% of Sporting KC. (As of Friday afternoon, the club’s website listed five owners in addition to the Illigs: the Patterson family, Greg Maday, the Curran family, Robb Heineman and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. By Friday evening, the webpage was no longer available.)
Despite the wide gap in the stake sizes, the Illigs are set to retain their positions as governor and alternate governor of the team, at least for the time being. MLS has historically required the control person at each franchise to hold at least 35%, but exceptions have been made, as in the case of LAFC’s rotating ownership group.
In a statement, Sporting Kansas City said that the shareholders in the team’s parent company, OnGoal LLC, remained the same as they had been since 2022 and that the club would not comment on “specific shareholder matters or ownership participation levels.”
“We can confirm that there have been no changes in the management of the club, and no changes in the club’s ownership participation in MLS governance or league activities,” the statement said. “The Illig family continues to lead the club’s shareholder group, manage the club day to day, and represent Sporting Kansas City on the MLS board of governors.”
MLS declined to comment.
Over the past few years, MLS valuations have risen steadily, to an average of $690 million in 2025, up 19% from 2023’s $579 million. Last year, three clubs were worth at least $1 billion, with LAFC leading the ranking at $1.25 billion.
Amid that optimism, Sportico reported in July that Haslam Sports Group had sold a 10% stake in the Columbus Crew to existing investors at a $900 million valuation, a significant premium to Forbes’ valuation of $735 million. The same month, Austin FC announced the addition of five new minority investors, who reportedly came in at a $912 million valuation. The Seattle Sounders are also currently seeking a large minority partner, according to Sportico.
In terms of control transactions, billionaire Gail Miller and her family bought RSL Football Holdings—which owns MLS’s Real Salt Lake and the NWSL’s Utah Royals, among other assets—in April for a reported price of $600 million. Three months later, Rogers Communications and BCE, which had owned equal 37.5% shares of Toronto FC parent Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, announced a deal in which Rogers raised its stake to 75%.
The Vancouver Whitecaps and the San Jose Earthquakes are currently on the market but are not believed to have reached sale agreements yet.
It is a pivotal time for MLS. In 2024, 16 of its 29 teams were unprofitable, according to Forbes estimates, with Sporting Kansas City posting an estimated operating loss of $2 million. But the league has long seen this year’s World Cup—being held in the United States, Mexico and Canada—as a potential turning point for its business, envisioning a surge in soccer’s popularity in the U.S. that translates to a broader MLS fan base.
MLS also recently announced that it would overhaul its competition calendar in 2027, switching from a calendar-year format to a wraparound schedule that will align it with most other professional soccer leagues around the world. Meanwhile, the league restructured its media rights deal with Apple, reportedly agreeing to end the streaming partnership in 2029, three and a half years earlier than had been planned, while folding its Season Pass package—which started at $13 per month for Apple TV subscribers—into the standard Apple TV subscription.
The Illigs have been involved with Sporting KC since 2006, when Clifford Illig, who cofounded healthcare IT services company Cerner, partnered with four other local investors to buy the franchise from its legendary founder, Lamar Hunt. The new regime steered the club away from financial ruin, changed its name from the Kansas City Wizards to Sporting KC and delivered a $200 million soccer-specific stadium in 2011. Illig last appeared on Forbes’ billionaire list in 2015, with an estimated net worth of $1.15 billion.
Sporting KC has missed the MLS playoffs the past two seasons but has punched above its weight financially. Even though it plays in a media market that Nielsen ranks as the U.S.’s 35th-largest, the franchise tied for 11th in MLS with $75 million in 2024 revenue, according to Forbes estimates.
That number grew to an estimated $81 million in 2025, and it could rise again this year. Sporting KC is in the market for a new stadium naming rights partner after its deal with Children’s Mercy expired, and it added Saint Luke’s Health System as its official healthcare provider, with the hospital network’s logo set to appear on the club’s game-day and training jerseys. The club also operates a hospitality business, Argyle Events by Sporting KC, that manages experiences at Sporting KC matches and a handful of venues around Kansas City, which this year will include the area’s FIFA Fan Festival during the World Cup.