Baseball legend Alex Rodriguez joined the Professional Fighters League (PFL) as an investor. Rodriguez invested around 30 million dollars into the promotion.
The Professional Fighters League or PFL is fairly new MMA promotion and was founded in 2018. PFL is the first major MMA organization that uses league format.
But what many might not be aware of, is that PFL is a rebrand of World Series of Fighting that was struggling. WSOF famously featured that eye poking match between Jake Shields and Rousimar Palhares. WSOF also had extremely close ties to MMA superagent Ali Abdelaziz which were frowned upon – and he had to resign from his position in the promotion.
The league format means their athletes compete in a regular season, post-season and championship. Unlike many other MMA promotions where their athletes compete on a year-round basis. The athletes usually take home 1 million if they win the championship.
Many MMA community members side eye the prize considering that the PFL is generally seen as drastically less lucrative than UFC and even Bellator.
Alex Rodriguez is currently interested in the world of mixed martial arts and believes PFL has a bright future ahead. The New York Yankee superstar invested a huge sum – 30 million dollars and was added to PFL’s board of directors. Alex Rodriguez said in a statement that the reach of MMA is vast and there’s a huge demand for it.
“I love the global reach of MMA. The PFL continues to build and innovate for fans, media and fighters, and there is massive demand in the marketplace.” Rodriguez said.
The organization will use the money to expand PFL globally and to target free agent athletes from parent company Endeavor. The PFL president and founder Donn Davis said they will launch a pay-per-view ‘Super Fight’ event next year.
According to a source who knows about the deal, PFL is now valued at $500 million. In 2021 their value was at $400 million.
“They now have a great option – UFC or PFL. We’re open for business in the pay-per-view division.” Davis said during an interview with CNBC.
Alex Rodriguez is not new when it comes to investment. The 46-year-old made around 450 million dollars during his baseball career and has become a prolific investor. Rodriguez also has a minority ownership stake in the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.