Reports: Mark Ingram invests in D.C. United originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The price of a stake in Major League Soccer continues to rise as the league expands and new investors, including some of the nation's top professional athletes, look to invest.
The latest deal to go down involves D.C. United and Houston Texans running back Mark Ingram, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens, who reportedly purchased a minority stake in the MLS franchise.
Sportico was the first to report the transaction on Thursday, revealing that the deal valued D.C. United at $710 million, among the highest ever for an MLS club, and a significant hike from the then-MLS record $60 million that the club was valued at in 2012 when majority owner Jason Levien invested.
D.C. United has yet to formally acknowledge the deal, but hinted at it in a tweet following the reports on Thursday.
Ingram spent the last two season in Baltimore where he became a leader in the Ravens locker room and in the Baltimore community before getting released in January. The 31-year-old agreed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the Texans in March.
His investment in MLS follows the likes of Brooklyn Nets stars James Harden (Houston Dynamo & Dash) and Kevin Durant (Philadelphia Union), along with NFL colleagues Russell Wilson (Seattle Sounders). Several retired athletes, namely Mia Hamm and Magic Johnson have also put their money into expansion franchise LAFC, which competed in its inaugural season in 2018.
2021 marks the inaugural season of Austin FC, MLS's 27th franchise. Despite plans for an expansion franchise in Sacramento coming to screeching halt in April, the league is expecting to expand from 27 to 30 teams in the next few years with Charlotte and St. Louis set to begin play in 2022 and 2023.
