Getting a part of an NFL team is a dream for many, but not for the UFC CEO, Dana White. Well, there was a time when he would have liked to be a part owner of an NFL team, but not anymore. Even though he has a pretty close relationship with Puka Nacua, the NFL star who grew up with White’s children. After all, White and Lorenzo Fertitta used to fund the team called ‘Little Cowboys’. Nacua, including many others, secured a career in the NFL through ‘Little Cowboys’. But that was it. The UFC CEO didn’t want to venture any further into the land of the pointed ball. 

On 15th January, the UFC head honcho surprised the netizens when he appeared at the end of the DraftKings’ Pardon My Take podcast. That was when Dan Katz asked him if he ever wanted to own an NFL Team. Well, the UFC CEO simply said, “Nah. I’m not really into that. I like finding sports that nobody else believes in.” 

However, White’s opinion was completely different in 2019, when he appeared in an interview with TMZ. But the entity in focus was Lorenzo Fertitta. When the reporter asked White if Fertitta would like to be an NFL owner, White replied, “They own casinos, they’re incredible owners, they own the UFC, they’re incredible owners. They’ll be amazing NFL owners”. And would he like to be a part of the Fertitta brothers’ venture in the NFL business?

Well, White’s reply revealed that he was indeed hungry to step into the NFL. He answered, “I’m very interested. Yes, I predict that the Fertitta brothers will own an NFL team and me and the Fertitta brothers will be in business again someday.”

Even though the $500M worth UFC boss has decided against owning an NFL team, he couldn’t stay back from competing with the American Football promotion. And the one thing where White wanted to compete with the NFL and other sports, was broadcasting.  

Dana White set to compete with NFL’s broadcasting scenes

UFC’s $1.5 billion deal with ESPN is right around its end. Platforms like Netflix, Amazon, WB, YouTube, and ESPN, are in line to claim the rights for broadcasting UFC bouts. Not too long ago, Netflix put the stamp on a 10-year, $5 billion deal to broadcast WWE. It was highly expected that Netflix would also acquire UFC’s broadcasting rights. Well, the negotiations are in place. But White certainly has some ambitions for that as well.

During a conversation with Bloomberg, back in September 2024, the UFC head honcho said, “It’s gonna be interesting how this plays out. I mean, we could end up being like the NFL and other sports where we could be on multiple platforms or just one. I don’t know how that gonna play out.” He’s indeed set out to raise the bar for mixed martial arts. But would it be bigger than the NFL? Only time can tell.

Back in 2019, White was indeed ready to get a piece of an NFL team. The Fertitta brothers were highly interested in acquiring the ownership of a team, especially the Las Vegas Raiders. However, no opportunities popped up for them, leaving the dream unfulfilled. Needless to say, it might be one of the Fertitta brothers’ biggest pain. 

Do you think Dana White’s valuation could have boomed even higher had he gotten himself a part of an NFL team? What are your thoughts on White owning the Raiders? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.