The Seattle Sounders are seeking outside investors for the first time since the club joined MLS in 2009.
The team has retained Moelis & Co. to explore a “strategic capital raise,” according to a statement shared with Sportico. More specifically, the Sounders are looking for a large minority partner that can lend capital and expertise to the club’s big project ambitions, including real estate aspirations that could include a new soccer-specific stadium at its Longacres development.
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The team is seeking “a strategic partner that wants to align with the vision of what we are building,” Sounders president of business operations Hugh Weber said in an interview. “Whether that’s a family or an individual, a first-time sports investor or if it’s their fifth sports investment, it’s more about the human and how we think about partnering. That’s way more important than their pedigree.”
The mandate relates just to the Sounders and does not include the Seattle Reign, the NWSL team that the Sounders bought last year in a $58 million deal. There is no individual partner selling his or her equity; this will be a capital raise, agreed to by the whole ownership group.
The Sounders are controlled by majority owner Adrian Hanauer, who took over from Joe Roth in 2015. Though the club has also announced new backers over the years, they’ve been very small pieces purchased privately by celebrities or local businesspeople such as Ken Griffey Jr., Macklemore, Marshawn Lynch and Satya Nadella. This, however, would be the first time since its MLS debut that the team has sought capital on the open market.
The Sounders are just the latest MLS team to openly court investors on the eve of the 2026 men’s World Cup, which will be held across North America. Both the Vancouver Whitecaps and San Jose Earthquakes are currently on the market, and Real Salt Lake sold earlier this year. The Columbus Crew and Austin FC are among teams that have raised money in the last 12 months.
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Since the moment the World Cup was awarded to the U.S., Canada and Mexico back in 2018, MLS executives and owners have discussed it as a major commercial catalyst for both the league and soccer in America. That said, even if every situation is unique, it’s notable that a number of teams seeking new owners or new investors have chosen to do so prior to that event.
The Sounders are worth $825 million, which ranks seventh in the league, according to Sportico’s MLS valuations. Team revenue in 2024 was $83 million, which ranked ninth. Since the Sounders joined the league in 2009, they have been among the league’s best teams on the field—winning two titles and seven other major trophies.
Though the team plays in an NFL stadium, a challenge for many MLS clubs over the league’s history, it has consistently maintained among the highest attendance in the league. The Sounders led the league in home fans for eight straight years from 2009 to 2016 and have never finished outside the top three. They were second this past season, trailing only Atlanta United.
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Moelis recently handled the sale of NWSL club Angel City FC to Bob Iger and Willow Bay and a recent investment into the New York Giants at a record $10.5 billion valuation. The investment bank is also currently selling another MLS club, the San Jose Earthquakes.
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