Sports

Robert Kraft saved the New England Patriots with a gutsy $175 million investment and it has paid off big time

By Cork Gaines
Robert Kraft
From left, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, New England Patriots President Jonathan Kraft, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady carry Vince Lombardi trophies onto the field at Fenway Park on April 13, 2015. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Read in app

In 1994, Robert Kraft owned Foxboro Stadium, then the home of the New England Patriots, and rejected a $75 million offer to buy out the lease.

If he had sold, it would have allowed the team to move to St. Louis. Instead, Kraft paid a then-NFL record $175 million to buy the team and keep it in the Boston area.

It was a gutsy move for a team playing nearly a decade's worth of bad football in an outdated stadium, dishing out the equivalent of about $300 million in today's dollars. Now the Patriots are said to be worth $3.8 billion, with a B, according to Forbes.com's latest valuations.

In 2000, the Patriots were considered just slightly above average with a value of $464 million compared with the average NFL team of $423 million. Since then they have won five Super Bowls and only trail the Dallas Cowboys ($4.8 billion) in value.

Not bad. Not a bad investment at all.

New England Patriots franchise value
Yutong Yuan/Business Insider

 

Read next

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

极速168赛车官方网站图片

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Cork Gaines
Cork Gaines
Cork was a correspondent for Insider's sports desk.Previously, he was a contributor at MLB Trade Rumors, and he has written for Yahoo Sports, Deadspin, and The Hardball Times. He has authored chapters in three books, including "The Hardball Times 2009 Season Preview." Cork's work has been featured on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and "Mike & Mike," "Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons," ESPN.com, BBC, Yahoo, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, Drudge Report, the Washington Post, the Kansas City Star, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News, among others.He is a graduate of the University of Iowa and holds a doctorate from Fordham University.Here is a selection of his work:Under Armour hit the jackpot on its Jordan Spieth betGary Woodland once took his pants off to hit a shot and learned a funny lesson about product endorsementWe tried the alcohol diet Tom Brady put Rob Gronkowski on, and it was a lot harder than we imaginedThe University of Texas spent $7 million remodeling their football locker room and the results are jaw-droppingStephen Curry has replaced LeBron James as the best basketball player in the worldEx-NBA player who made $60 million explains what really happens to your money when you sign an 8-figure contractHere's Michael Jordan's 56,000-square-foot house in Chicago, and why it's still on the market after 6 yearsMayweather beat McGregor with a TKO in the 10th round! Here are the big moments everybody will be talking aboutPerfect conditions at Cowboys-Patriots game helped create incredible picturesWe've been using Alexa in a car for 6 months and it's the best infotainment system we've ever used.
HOME Subscribe Read in app