Golden Goal: Sporting Kansas City, which Forbes valued at $650 million last year, is selling a majority stake at an enterprise value of roughly $700 million, according to multiple league sources.
Kyleigh Rowe -Sporting Kansas City/MLS via Getty Images
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, after the club generated an estimated $75 million in 2024 revenue.
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 exceeded $1 billion, with LAFC leading the ranking at $1.25 billion.
In Control: Clifford Illig and his family, who have owned Sporting KC since 2006, are set to retain their position on MLS’s board of governors.
Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2026/01/16/sporting-kansas-city-is-being-sold-for-roughly-700-million-an-mls-record/
