Instant Reaction: MSG Sports Considering Spinning Off New York Knicks, Rangers

Summary

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Bloomberg Business of Sports

Episode: Instant Reaction: MSG Sports Considering Spinning Off New York Knicks, Rangers
Date: February 18, 2026
Host(s): Michael Barr, Vanessa Perdomo, Damian Sassower
Featured Guest: Randall Williams, Bloomberg Sports Business Reporter

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Overview

This episode dives into the breaking news that Madison Square Garden Sports (MSG Sports) is considering spinning off the iconic New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL) franchises into a separate entity. The hosts and guest Randall Williams discuss the financial motivations, valuation of these teams, and the broader trends in sports franchise investment, including institutional involvement and media rights value. The conversation also touches on soaring ticket prices, sports journalism’s decline, and speculation about the value of other top franchises.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. MSG's Spin-Off Plans: Context and Motivation

• Proper Valuation as Key Driver

  • MSG Sports’ market cap is $7 billion, but combined estimates of the Knicks ($10B) and Rangers ($3–4B) suggest a far higher total asset value (13–14B) than the company’s trading value.

    “They want to get a proper valuation on these things. MSG as a company is valued at $7 billion...the Knicks and the Rangers combined are much larger than that.”
    — Randall Williams, 02:27

• Comparison to Other Franchise Market Values

  • Discussion around the Atlanta Braves and observed “discount to private market value” in publicly traded sports assets.
  • The Dolans (owners) appear to want to close the gap between trading and true asset value.

2. Valuations and the Financial Landscape

• Current Franchise Valuations

  • Knicks: ~$10B; Rangers: $3–4B
  • Championship wins could substantially boost value.
  • Other examples discussed: Seattle Seahawks expected sale valuation ($8–10B), Lakers ($10B+), Yankees (potentially $10B+).

• Rarity and Market Dynamics

  • Sports franchises are exceptionally scarce, especially in major markets like New York, driving intense valuation surges.

    “Anybody who wants to own a sports franchise, it’s almost a once in a lifetime opportunity... the Knicks, if they were for sale, would probably not be up for sale for another 50 years.”
    — Randall Williams, 03:50

3. Ticket Prices and Fan Experience

• Accessibility Concerns
  • Both hosts and Williams comment on the notion that spinning off teams will not result in cheaper tickets.

    “Sports are a luxury experience right now. Gone are the days where you could just be like, ‘oh, I want to go to a Knicks game’ and walk in—now you sort of have to plan for it.”
    — Randall Williams, 04:25

4. Investor and Private Equity Trends

• Pro Teams as an "Asset Class"

  • Growing trend of institutional investors viewing sports teams alongside stocks and bonds.

    “They now view it as an asset class, not as like a trophy property. It’s stocks, bonds, and sports teams.”
    — Sports Business Reporter, 04:32

  • Private equity (e.g. Silver Lake in MSG) becoming more prevalent across all leagues.

• Barriers to Entry

  • NFL requires 30% of purchase in cash; multi-billion-dollar check writing limits are shrinking the buyer pool.

    “It’s a lot of money to buy these sports franchises. The pool of people who can buy these teams is getting smaller.”
    — Randall Williams, 05:59

5. Media Rights, Growth, and the NFL as Juggernaut

• TV Audience Power

  • Super Bowl draws 125M viewers, even in defensive games—underscoring live sports’ unique pull for media deals.

• Continued Media Value Growth

  • Rising media rights fees help propel valuations ever higher for team owners.

6. Decline of Sports Journalism

• Washington Post Sports Desk Closure

  • Randall Williams and the hosts lament the closure, connecting it to wider changes in the sports media landscape.

    “To imagine the Washington Post without a sports desk is…your hero.”
    — Randall Williams, 08:25

• Shift to Digital and Subscriptions

  • Comparison to NYT’s acquisition of The Athletic as an alternative to retaining traditional sports writing talent.

• Loss of Legacy Storytelling

  • Hosts express nostalgia for legacy writers and in-depth sports journalism.

    “That’s what we’re losing, is people like Olney and, and others George Will’s, you know…”
    — Alexis Christopher, 08:59

7. Fun, Offbeat, and Memorable Moments

• Ticket prices joke:

  “Here we go.”
  — Alexis Christopher, with humor, 04:20

• Speculation on Yankees’ value:

  “The Yankees gotta be worth more than 10. The Lakers traded for 10 last year. I think the Yankees would go for something similar.”
  — Randall Williams, 10:16

• Legacy sports journalism references:

  • Hosts recall their journalistic heroes and classic articles as a nod to what’s being lost with newsroom cuts.

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Notable Quotes

• On Asset Rarity:

  “Anybody who wants to own a sports franchise, it’s almost a once in a lifetime opportunity… the Knicks, if they were for sale, would probably not be up for sale for another 50 years.”
  — Randall Williams [03:50]

• On Private Equity in Sports:

  “Private equity is increasingly buying more stakes because they are seeing these media rights fees continue to rise. You're seeing sports franchise valuations continue to rise.”
  — Randall Williams [04:58]

• On Ticket Price Reality:

  “Sports are a luxury experience right now. Gone are the days where you can just be like, ‘oh, I want to go to a Knicks game’ and walk in—now you sort of have to plan for it.”
  — Randall Williams [04:25]

• On the Shrinking Buyer Pool:

  “It’s a lot of money to buy these sports franchises. The pool of, you know, people who can buy these teams is getting smaller.”
  — Randall Williams [05:59]

• On Sports Journalism Loss:

  “To imagine the Washington Post without a sports desk is…your hero.”
  — Randall Williams [08:25]

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Segment Timestamps

• [02:11] – News of MSG’s potential Knicks/Rangers spin-off and underlying valuation rationale.
• [03:27] – Discussion of valuations, market scarcity, and hypothetical surge from championships.
• [04:32] – Institutional investors and private equity inflow into pro sports.
• [05:59] – How rising valuations and league rules create a higher barrier to team ownership.
• [07:32] – Impact of the Washington Post closing its sports desk; legacy of sports journalism.

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Conclusion

The episode delivers timely analysis of MSG’s strategic considerations, placing the Knicks and Rangers within a broader context of financialization, market scarcity, and the surging power of media rights. With insight from Randall Williams, listeners come away understanding why sports franchises have become such hotly traded and increasingly inaccessible commodities—both for fans (rising ticket costs) and buyers (multi-billion price tags and cash requirements). The conversation’s latter half offers a sobering look at the decline of legacy sports journalism, underscoring generational changes across every facet of the business of sports.

Transcript

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[Alexis Christopher]

I'm going to sit back. Alexis Christopher's can't even she's had two Tito's and tanks. Just this announcement on the Rangers and the Knicks. Paul Sweeney has those those rock star seats for the Knicks as well. Nick Turner's biggest headache has joined us. Randall Williams is with us. Write it up. Is Rudolph Agori ever senior amex?

[Randall Williams]

All of all of my managers have seen it. They lost Senior I'm under the bad.

[Alexis Christopher]

Bunny merch at the Super Bowl.

[Randall Williams]

I didn't. I don't have any bad bunny merch. Not this time. I wore Kendrick hoodie yesterday from Super Bowl 59's halftime show, but I did not get any bad bunny merch this year.

[Sports Business Reporter]

Interesting. Randall Williams, EO Sports Business Reporter for Bloomberg News, joins us here. Randall, we saw some news this morning. Alexis was just reporting it. Msg, which is a publicly traded company, thinking about splitting off two of their main businesses, the Knicks and the Rangers. What's behind that, do you think?

[Randall Williams]

Well they said in the statement that they want to get a proper valuation on these things. MSG as a company is valued at $7 billion. Sportico, Forbes, CNBC all estimate the Knicks and the Rangers combined are much larger than that. You're talking about the knicks being at 10, potentially the Rangers probably at three to four. And so that combined is anywhere between 13 to 14 billion dollars. I think when you're thinking about these assets, they are very huge and they want to get a proper valuation on them.

[Sports Business Reporter]

Is it? They're generally speaking though, and you think about that, whether you think about the Atlanta Braves, which is also publicly traded, that they do in fact trade at a discount to private market value. But I guess the Dolan's are thinking not this much of a discount.

[Randall Williams]

Yeah, I think so. I mean, look, the Knicks are the, I believe the third most valuable team, depending on who you ask, I'm sure.

[Alexis Christopher]

Really? In the NBA.

[Randall Williams]

I think if both the warriors and the Lakers were up for sale again, they might trade for higher, but there would be a strong, strong market. And the Rangers as well, because they do play.

[Alexis Christopher]

Yeah. So Lexus, they're like the Toronto Maple Leafs, they're like the third most valuable franchise.

[Sports Fan/Commentator]

Which is crazy when you think about the fact that both the Knicks and the Rangers haven't won a championship in years. And the Knicks, and we're talking about 1973, I was a toddler, what's going on? So what would they be worth, you know, if they actually went out and won a championship?

[Randall Williams]

I think that there is a championship surge as part of it. You'll probably see it with the Seahawks, which are expected to trade later this year.

[Alexis Christopher]

Give us a number.

[Randall Williams]

On the Seahawks, I would guess at minimum 8 billion at maximum. 10. That would be my guess on the Seahawks. And the reason that these assets trade for so large is because there's not that many of them. You're talking about a New York based market. And so with that in mind, anybody who wants to own a sports franchise, it's almost a once in a lifetime opportunity. The Knicks, whoever were to buy them, if they were for sale, would probably not be up for sale for another 50 years.

[Sports Fan/Commentator]

You know what's another once in a lifetime opportunity to see them live because these ticket prices are out of control.

[Alexis Christopher]

Here we go.

[Randall Williams]

Not wrong.

[Sports Fan/Commentator]

So I guess if they spin off, we're still not going to get cheaper tickets, are we?

[Randall Williams]

Sports are a luxury experience right now. Gone are the days where you can just be like, oh, I want to go to a Knicks game and walk in now, you sort of have to plan for it.

[Sports Business Reporter]

We had the head of sports investment banking at Goldman Sachs yesterday in on the Bloomberg Intelligence program. Yep. And he did a great job. But he was saying there's institutional investor money out there, Tom, that is looking to invest in professional sports franchises. They now view it as a. As an asset class, not as like a trophy property. It stocks bonds and sports teams.

[Alexis Christopher]

Excuse me, it sounds like David Rubenstein.

[Sports Business Reporter]

Yes, exactly.

[Randall Williams]

Absolutely. I mean, you look at the Knicks, they have Silver Lake as one of their. Their investors, or Madison Square Garden has Silver Lake. You look across sports and private equity is increasingly buying more stakes because they are seeing these media rights fees continue to rise. You're seeing sports franchise valuations continue to rise. Years ago, the Knicks were probably worth between 2 to 3 billion dollars. Today, they're valued at 10. When I think these private investment firms are looking at this, they're like, okay, well, if this is turning over so many times over again, of course, I would like to be in the dance.

[Sports Business Reporter]

Private equity. We've seen private equity in the NFL, of course. Will we see that in other sports, do you think?

[Randall Williams]

It's all over. The NFL was the last to add the rules. The NBA has had private equity for years. So is the NHL, the mlb, and I believe the MLS as well.

[Sports Business Reporter]

I mean, it used to be a sport for. If you're a millionaire, you own a sports team. Now it's billionaire. And even then, Stevie Cohen, the wealthiest owner in Major League Baseball individually, is being outgunned by this consortium of investors in Los Angeles for the Dodgers.

[Randall Williams]

Yeah, and I think a good way to look at this is thinking about the Seahawks sale. Let's say that they do sell for, at minimum, $8 billion. Well, in NFL rules, that you have to have 30% of that overall valuation in cash. So that's at minimum, $2.5 billion. There's not that many people in the world who can write that check. That check cannot come from private equity. You can use private equity to add on to that to get to the $8 billion number after the discount. But it's a lot of money to buy these sports franchises. And the pool of, you know, people who can buy these teams is getting smaller.

[Sports Business Reporter]

All right, you were out in the Bay Area for the super bowl. I mean, six. Nothing going into the third quarter, but still 125 million people tuned in. I mean, this is the juggernaut.

[Randall Williams]

No signs of it is. The NFL is a booming business unlike any other. When. When you have two teams, Seahawks and the Patriots who you know Boston is a big market but Seattle is mid sized market and they attract that number. Of course Roger Goodell wants to rip up the media deal and go get some more money.

[Alexis Christopher]

Miranda Williams where this definitive in US Sports and the finance of as well just absolutely owns a high ground.

[Randall Williams]

Thank you.

[Alexis Christopher]

And all this, this, this back and forth. You went to Hampton University. I, my, my father beat into me that you read Tom Boswell and the Baltimore sun in the Washington Post. Randall Williams on the elimination of the venerable sports desk of the Washington Post discussion.

[Randall Williams]

Yeah, I had some friends who were actually out there with me on the super bowl trip who were at Roger Goodell's press conference and they got the news there and it's a travesty. I mean you think about just the things that have occurred in Washington D.C. over the last five years with the Commander Sale before that, the ownership of Dan Snyder, NFL owners essentially forcing him out alongside the coverage of just Washington D.C. as a whole. That's some of the larger stories. But talk about the Wizards and when they were thinking about moving to think about the Washington Post without a sports.

[Alexis Christopher]

Is it a money loser? Because I went down the Washington Post yesterday. I literally did this, folks. I counted 12 articles of Washington Post, substance, international politics and that. And the next, the next article was here's the three ways to eat a cheese pizza.

[Randall Williams]

Yeah, it's ridiculous.

[Alexis Christopher]

That's what we're substituting for. The legacy of Sally Jenkins and Roswell.

[Randall Williams]

It's ridiculous. I think that, you know, the Baltimore Banner had announced that they are going to be hiring some people to cover D.C. and I think that that's good. But to imagine the Washington Post without a sports desk is your hero.

[Alexis Christopher]

You're at Hampton. Okay. You're a kid who was your hero in sports writing?

[Randall Williams]

I would say Bill Roden. Bill Roden who was at the New York Times for many, many years. And to think about even the New York Times and what they have done.

[Sports Business Reporter]

Like they bought the athletic.

[Randall Williams]

They have and there are still sports writers here and there that dabble. But they bought the athletic and that is essentially their substitute. The Washington Post did not buy anything. They just cut jobs.

[Alexis Christopher]

I have in my closet at home a fancy leather briefcase. What would you expect from years ago? And in it is a folded up globe of Buster only, excuse me, maybe a Times Buster Olney's classic article on Pedro Martinez getting older. That's what we're losing is people like Olney and, and others George Will's, you know, away from it maybe. And all that this has been great. Can you your travels like do less American Express Reto just emailed in Keeper of the Amex and said tell Randall slow it down.

[Randall Williams]

I don't even think I would crack top 50 in the company.

[Alexis Christopher]

Why are you looking at me? Why are you going to Canada US in two days in Italy.

[Randall Williams]

I'm not see you hear he's trying to set me up. He's trying to get me on a flight out of there. You can take my place. You can take my place. I'm not headed out.

[Alexis Christopher]

We'll let Alexis go. Randall Williams thank you. Thank you so much. Short notice and this is Alexis. Was that okay? Did we learn about the Rangers and the Knicks?

[Sports Fan/Commentator]

I think he did a great job.

[Alexis Christopher]

I learned a lot and they've never won.

[Sports Fan/Commentator]

These are eye popping numbers. New York Yankees, aren't they worth like eight and a half?

[Alexis Christopher]

Are they going to be worth less than 10 billion?

[Sports Business Reporter]

I don't know. My boy Josiah owns the Nets. He's laughing five seconds.

[Alexis Christopher]

What are the Yankees worth?

[Sports Fan/Commentator]

I say, I say 8 billion.

[Randall Williams]

The Yankees got to be worth more than 10 Yankees. The Lakers traded for 10 last year. I think the Yankees would go for something similar.

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[Randall Williams]

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