Marc Lasry, who made a fortune buying distressed debt (debt of troubled companies), now sees sports investing as the next big opportunity. He believes media rights will surge, so he bought a bull riding team (PBR) and invested in SailGP, a sailing league. He previously owned the Milwaukee Bucks, sold them right after winning the 2021 NBA championship for a huge profit, because the team's value peaks when it wins.
Marc Lasry, CEO of Avenue Capital Group (managing $13 billion in assets), shared his journey from a pioneer in distressed debt investing to a sports investor on the program. The core thesis is that sports investing offers high-return opportunities similar to early distressed debt, and team ownership provides a scarcity advantage. He proved this strategy by owning the Milwaukee Bucks (2021 NBA champions) and has since expanded into sports like sailing and bull riding. Lasry emphasized that distressed debt investing has evolved from "cigar butt" to more complex structures, while sports investing is becoming a new growth frontier, with economic models (e.g., TV rights, franchise appreciation) offering stable cash flow and capital appreciation potential.
Marc Lasry believes that sports investing is currently severely undervalued by the market—its value extends far beyond the events themselves, forming a vast ecosystem of media rights, sponsorships, ticket sales, and community belonging.
Lasry used the Milwaukee Bucks as a detailed example to explain the unique logic of sports investing. He noted that when the Bucks were sold, their annual profit was only about $5 million, and the purchase price was 100 times that profit—unthinkable in traditional investing. But he was betting on the upcoming new media rights deal. He expected media rights revenue to rise from $30 million per year to $60–$75 million, but the actual result was $90 million—triple the original. This directly doubled the team's value. Lasry pointed out a "dirty secret" in sports: if you only want to make money, you won't win; if you want to win, you have to spend all the money you earn. Therefore, the team's most valuable moment is when it wins the championship, which is why he chose to sell the team immediately after winning in 2021. He judged that it is unlikely the team's value will increase 5–10 times again, but a 2–3 times increase is reasonable.
He further compared the logic of emerging sports investments. Using "Bull Riding" as an example, he noted that its initial media rights deal with CBS Sports yielded "zero" revenue, but three years later, its viewership was close to that of a single NBA game. Lasry's team bought a bull riding team for $25 million and believes that with the next media rights deal (potentially $500 million/year), the team's value could grow 5–20 times in 2–5 years. He is similarly bullish on the "Sailing League" (SailGP), which Larry Ellison launched with $250 million. Initially, only 100,000 people watched, but three years later, a single race attracted 2 million U.S. viewers, surpassing the average NBA viewership. Lasry believes that this "from zero to one" growth in media rights value is the biggest source of alpha in sports investing.
"You can't predict what new sports people will like, but you can always see what they are watching right now." —Marc Lasry, meaning investment decisions should be based on actual viewership data, not subjective guesses about the future.
Lasry attributes his successful investing to three things: insatiable curiosity, trust with investors, and building a reputation for fairness in transactions.
Lasry credits his positive mindset to "winning the lottery." He believes that no matter how much wealth one accumulates, it should be seen as good fortune, not a burden. This mindset helps him focus on the positive rather than dwelling on the complexities of success. He mentioned that when running Avenue Capital, he proactively returned over $12 billion to investors in 2012 because of a lack of market opportunities, even though it drastically shrank the firm's size. He admitted that from a business perspective, he should have expanded into direct lending and private equity, but his primary goal at the time was to focus on generating returns, not managing assets under management.
Lasry emphasized that in the asset management industry, trust is a "moat" that surpasses intelligence. "Everyone is smart; the key is that people trust you. When you make a mistake, admit it and explain clearly." Citing David Bonderman as an example, he noted that the best investors are a combination of "book smart" and "street smart"—able to see through complex numbers and communicate effectively with people. In team building, he prefers to recruit "team players" over pure geniuses, because internal discord can disrupt the investment process.
In his trading philosophy, he believes in "winning, but not hurting the other side." He avoids pursuing the "last dollar" because it builds a good reputation, which attracts more deal opportunities. He mentioned that in the distressed debt space, some people maximize returns by liquidating companies, but he personally has no interest in that.
"A true mentor is someone who wants you to succeed, regardless of whether they themselves succeed." —Marc Lasry, meaning the difference between a helper and a true mentor lies in whether the person supports you without expecting anything in return.
Lasry divides distressed debt investing into three eras: the early "marathon" era requiring deep legal and numerical expertise, the "sprint" era after bankruptcy law reform, and the current "boxing" era of excess capital and increased litigation.
Lasry recalled that in the 1980s–1990s, the core of distressed debt investing was understanding complex bankruptcy laws. Bankruptcy proceedings typically took 3–6 years, and investors had to constantly engage in legal battles with various creditors. Then, bankruptcy law reforms (aimed at protecting creditors) shortened the process to 18–24 months, greatly improving efficiency. However, as capital flooded into the space, competition became fierce, and litigation among investors increased because the "value of time" had changed. In the past, debtors could use time to wear down creditors; now they cannot, so parties are more inclined to resolve disputes through litigation.
He concluded that the current market environment requires newly formed credit funds to be "large," because "small and nimble" is meaningless in the face of capital and resource pressure. Fund size, legal teams, and restructuring capabilities now form the new competitive barriers.
| Position | Guest Stance | Key Data |
|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Bucks | Exited, affirmed investment value | P/E ratio at purchase ~100x; annual profit rose from $5M to ~$90M (media rights); team value doubled during holding period. |
| Professional Bull Riders (PBR) | Bullish, bought-in | Team purchase price $25M; value after 3 years $25M; media rights from zero to potentially $500M/year. |
| SailGP (Sailing League) | Bullish, invested | Startup capital $250M; single-race viewership grew from 100K to 2M (U.S.) after 3 years. |
| TXU (Power Company) | Lesson case | Bond purchase price $0.40–$0.50; peaked at $1.10; not sold, later fell back to $0.50–$0.60. |
| Ford Bank Debt (2008) | Success case | Bond purchase price $0.80–$0.90; fell to $0.30; continued buying and eventually profited. |
| Airline Fund (Aircraft Leasing) | Investment case | COVID drove fund value down 75%, now recovered; core logic: "buy old planes, lease at a discount, recoup cost from parts." |
1. Sports investing is the "new" distressed debt investing. Both rely on market misunderstanding and information asymmetry, offering early access to high-return assets. Lasry noted that sports investing is currently in the "first inning"; as private equity enters, the market will become efficient and opportunities will diminish.
2. The value of ownership lies in scarcity, not liquidity. The number of teams in a sports league is fixed, while the pool of wealthy individuals (especially local communities) eager to own a team keeps growing—this forms the most basic supply-demand moat.
3. "Winning" and "making money" in sports investing are inherently contradictory. To win, you must spend all profits; the best time to sell is after winning (highest value). This makes sports investing more like a "short-term catalyst" arbitrage rather than a long-term hold.
4. The bet is on exponential growth in TV rights, not on the team itself. Whether for the Bucks, bull riding, or sailing, Lasry's core investment logic is based on media rights deals jumping from "zero" or "low" to "high," directly boosting team valuations.
5. "People love watching the best in the world compete against each other, no matter the sport." This is a core insight Lasry learned from a media executive, explaining why niche sports (e.g., curling, bull riding) can achieve high viewership at the Olympics or on TV.
6. The "three eras" framework of distressed debt investing: lawyer era, sprint era, fighter era. This framework clearly describes the industry's evolution from legal-technical-driven, to efficiency-driven, to capital-and-litigation-driven.
7. "Not taking the last dollar" is the most valuable habit in trading. From the TXU lesson, Lasry concluded that pursuing maximum profit often leads to greater losses, while building a reputation for fairness brings more deal opportunities.
8. "Nerd" + "street hustler" is the hallmark of top-tier investors. Using David Bonderman as an example, he believes the best investors combine deep academic analytical skills with sharp intuition and social ability—both are indispensable.