Soccer as an Alternative Investment: A Fascinating Conversation with Justin Papadakis of the United Soccer League

Today on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast we have a fascinating conversation about how soccer is a compelling alternative investment. 

We talk with Justin Papadakis, the COO & Chief Real Estate Officer of the United Soccer League. The USL is the largest and one of the fastest growing professional soccer organizations in the United States. 

Justin and I had a fascinating conversation about how sports and investing are emerging in large part because of the collision of culture and finance.

We discussed:

• How soccer is such an underrated investment opportunity.
• How the USL has seen a rise in team valuations from the hundreds of thousands to some teams valued in the $60-70M range — with a big opportunity to increase revenues through various revenue streams that include media, player transfers, sports betting, stadium related revenue, real estate related revenue.
• How the intersection of sports and real estate factors into the investment thesis for sports teams.
• How the transition to OTT media can positively impact sports league and team revenue.
• How more more professional investors and funds are now becoming involved and investing into sports teams and what this means for the development of sports as an investable asset class.
• How women’s soccer is a sleeping giant and what the USL is doing to help make it an investable opportunity.
• How democratizing access to sports ownership through crowdfunding and DAOs — and the power of community — can play a role in the sports investment landscape in the future.

In his current role, Justin oversees numerous departments that are critical to the league’s success, including expansion, stadium development, digital media, emerging technology, finance, and human resources.

Justin combines a real estate background, having worked six years at a REIT, with his soccer playing and sports management experience as he navigates building a league that is expanding in leaps and bounds. 

He holds a JD from Cleveland Marshall College of Law and earned a dual degree in public policy and economics from Duke University, where he also served as a goalkeeper on the Blue Devils soccer team.

Thanks Justin for coming on the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast to talk about how the beautiful game is continuing to grow thanks to the world of investing.