Speaker · Updated
Michael Ozanian: latest market views
CNBC
Summary
Michael Ozanian is CNBC's Senior Sports Reporter and a lead reporter for CNBC Sport, known for his sports team valuations and rankings from nearly 30 years at Forbes.
Chorus has 5 views from Michael Ozanian across 3 episodes on CNBC Closing Bell since October 21, 2026.
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Newest first. Every quote is checked against the episode's transcript.
Sports, betting & prediction markets
The expanded playoff nets college football far less than the headline $1.7B deal suggests.
The new five-year deal with ESPN is worth $1.7 billion and grosses out to an additional $345 million a year for college football. But the expansion eliminates conference games for the big four conferences, so college football has to return money to ESPN and Fox. After those givebacks, the net gain is about $155 million a year for 11 extra games per year, starting in 2027. The headline overstates the economic benefit.
“So it's really gonna net about 155,000,000 for 11 extra games for each of the next five years starting 2027.”at 36:23
Sports, betting & prediction markets
College football payouts will grow despite bowl-prestige concerns, because ratings stay strong even outside top conferences.
Ozanian disagrees with the concern that a restructured postseason would leave less money for lower-level bowl games. He points to strong TV ratings even for small bowl games and for college football outside the top four conferences, and concludes the overall pool of money will grow.
“But I tend to disagree with that because the ratings, even for some of these small bowl games, have been very strong. So I think the overall pool of money is gonna grow”at 37:07
Protect College Sports Act has only about a 10% chance of passing, per his reporting.
Ozanian says he reported on the bill and that almost everyone he called gave it about a 10% chance of passing, which he presents as his reporting rather than a prediction-market figure. Scott Wapner notes that headlines suggest it may be in doubt after the midterms.
“almost to a person that I called, they're giving it a 10% chance of passing.”at 37:47
Las Vegas Raiders
Teams controlling stadium operating rights rather than owning the building is a better, emerging model.
Ozanian says the Raiders own no stake in the building but control the economics, which he calls better than owning, since owners do not want a depreciating asset. He cites the Las Vegas state receiving a revenue stream and private money financing the stadium, and expects similar structures from the Browns and Chiefs. He presents this as a model teams will increasingly follow.
“if you can control the operating rights, it's better than actually owning it. You know, you you don't wanna own a depreciating asset per se.”at 37:16
Private equity buyers of NFL team stakes are a smart move; demand for NFL partnerships is tremendous.
Ozanian says demand to partner with the NFL, through ownership or on the business side, is tremendous. He notes the NFL is opening its ownership pool to more private equity firms. He calls General Atlantic's outside-investment move smart because it partners with the whole league rather than taking just 10% of one team. He cites the success of earlier investments such as 32 Equity.
“We've seen what's happened with 32 equity. We've seen the tremendous success these investments have. We don't want just 10% of a particular team. Here, we're basically partnering with the entire NFL.”at 36:57
Shows
- CNBC Closing Bell · 3 episodes
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