A minority stakeholder in MLS team Sporting Kansas City has successfully finalized a deal to acquire a majority interest in the club from its existing owners, as confirmed by a source to ESPN.
Since 2006, the Illig family has owned Sporting KC, but the source reports that they are selling a 71% stake to minority owner Peter Mallouk, increasing his ownership to 80%.
The acquisition price Mallouk paid for the majority stake reflects a club valuation of $700 million. A Forbes report from February 21 of last year pegged Sporting KC’s value at $650 million, making it the 16th most valuable franchise in MLS.
While the deal has been completed, the source noted that final details regarding the debt structure are still being finalized.
“I was born and raised in Kansas City, and I’ve always had a passion for Kansas City sports,” Mallouk told the KC Star. “When the opportunity arose, I jumped at it without a second thought.”
Even though Mallouk is now the majority shareholder, a statement from the club indicates that the Illig family will continue to handle the daily operations of the team and represent it on the MLS board of governors.
Forbes was the first outlet to report the sale of the Illig family’s majority stake.
This sale is part of a broader trend involving significant investments or outright sales of MLS franchises. Last April, the Miller Family acquired RSL Football Holdings for approximately $600 million. The Haslam Family sold a 10% stake in the Columbus Crew at a $900 million valuation, and Austin FC announced the addition of five new investors at a valuation of $912 million.
Additionally, Seattle Sounders FC revealed in October its intent to seek a “significant capital raise,” while both the San Jose Earthquakes and the Vancouver Whitecaps are currently up for sale.
Sporting KC, an original MLS franchise established in 1996 as the Kansas City Wiz, has experienced ups and downs. The team was purchased by OnGoal—comprising Neal Patterson, Cliff Illig of Cerner, Pat Curran, Greg Maday, and Robb Heineman—in 2006 from Lamar Hunt. The group not only kept the franchise in Kansas City but also rebranded it from Kansas City Wizards to Sporting Kansas City in 2011 and facilitated the construction of Sporting Park and a new training facility.
This ownership change coincided with a successful period for the club, including winning the 2013 MLS Cup as well as three U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015, and 2017. The group later brought Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on as a minority investor.
However, the team has faced challenges in recent years. Longtime head coach Peter Vermes was dismissed at the start of the 2025 season after over 15 years with the club. On January 5, former Young Boys coach Raphael Wicky was appointed as the new head coach at Sporting.
ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle contributed to this report.