Fenway Sports Group Reaches Agreement with Pittsburgh Penguins

What’s Happening: Last week, word leaked out that the Pittsburgh Penguins were on the market and that a potential buyer had been found in Fenway Sports Group. Earlier this week, that agreement to purchase the Penguins was finalized by Fenway Sports Group and the sale price is rumored to be around $900 million. Subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors, the sale of the Penguins to Fenway Sports Group is another feather in their already-impressive cap of sports franchises. They are already owners of the Boston Red Sox and English football club, Liverpool F.C., among other controlling interests they have.

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December 2nd 2021

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The sale of the Penguins comes at an interesting time simply because this is not the first time the Penguins have been on sale in recent years. As recently as 2016 and 2017, the Penguins were reportedly up for sale but were able to find no suitable buyers and eventually pulled the team off the market.

Why It Matters: It’s unlikely anything drastic will happen to the Penguins going forward aside from the fact that Penguins co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle are finally able to collect the payday they were looking for. A bonus to this is that Lemieux and Burkle will still be around the club as partial owners and aren’t expected to just completely disappear.

With the sale of the Penguins, the number one question might be: will the team be relocated?

The simple answer to this is no because the NHL stipulates that with any ownership change, the team that is bought is unable to be relocated within seven years of the purchase. On top of that, Pittsburgh is a hockey city and isn’t struggling to sell tickets like it once did years ago when the team was on the verge of bankruptcy. If anything, it’s expected that Fenway Sports Group is likely to keep the team in Pittsburgh with no intentions of moving the club.

On the Ice: If you’ve followed either the Boston Red Sox or Liverpool F.C., you know that ownership is not afraid to spend money to make money. Fenway Sports Group has demonstrated their commitment to spending money on players that are going to help the team win championships.

The Red Sox’s current payroll is close to $150 million and was as high as $233 million during their 2018 championship-winning season. In 2021, Liverpool F.C.'s payroll is just over £170 million, or roughly $225 million USD. Thus, it’s clear that the new ownership group is not shy when it comes to spending money in the pursuit of a championship. The Pittsburgh Penguins are likely to benefit from this and Lemieux and Burkle will benefit from this as well as it will take much of the financial burden off of their shoulders.  

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