Report: Jeff Lurie considering selling minority stake in Eagles

Jeff Lurie, who bought the Eagles 30 years ago, is exploring selling a minority ownership stake, according to a story on Bloomberg.com quoting unnamed sources.

Lurie bought the Eagles in April 1994 from Miami auto dealership magnate Norman Braman for $185 million. The team is now worth about $7.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.

According to the story, Lurie is working with New York- and Chicago-based investment bank BDT & MSD to seek potential buyers but is telling them there is “no path to a controlling interest stake.”

Bloomberg reported that the exact percentage of the franchise that could be sold has not been determined and that there’s a chance no deal will come out of these explorations.

If the Eagles are telling potential buyers there is “no path” to a controlling interest, that’s a strong indication day-to-day operations of the franchise won’t significantly change, and if a deal is struck, Eagles fans would probably not notice anything different. 

According to a Bloomberg story last month, NFL owners are expected to vote at some point this year on allowing private equity firms to purchase ownership stakes in NFL teams.

Lurie, 72, has owned the Eagles almost twice as long as any other owner. Leonard Tose owned the franchise from 1969 through 1985, when he sold the team to Braman.

Lurie is the Eagles’ seventh owner since the franchise was founded in 1933 by Philadelphia natives and former Penn football teammates Bert Bell and Lud Wray.

In recent years, Lurie has involved his son Julian more and more in team operations with the goal of eventually turning the franchise over to his Harvard-educated son. Julian Lurie currently holds the title of business and football operations strategy with the team.

At the 2022 NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, Lurie said his son “has my passion for the sport and the Eagles.”

He said he planned to expose Julian to all facets of the business and operations departments of the franchise.

“He’s a real sharp guy and he’s going to have so much more going into it than I ever did if he chooses that he wants to someday own and run the team,” Lurie said. “He’s going to have a gigantic advantage. Maybe he won’t make some of the early mistakes I made.”

The Eagles had no immediate comment on the report.