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Excel Sports Hires Moelis to Raise Funds, Explore Shamrock Exit

Scott Soshnick and Brendan Coffey

Thu, Jun 5, 2025, 8:57 AM 2 min read

The potential sale, confirmed by three people close to the companies involved who asked not to be identified because the news isn’t public, comes after a years-long period of active acquisition by Excel. After Shamrock closed on its undisclosed minority stake in Excel in December 2020, the agency has expanded its NFL business with the acquisition of Rep 1, moved more heavily into coach and executive management with the buy of Harlan Sports Management and increased its experiential capabilities with the absorption of creative marketing agency Game Seven.

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Even if Excel does raise additional capital to fuel future growth initiatives, there is no guarantee Shamrock will sell its stake, according to the people familiar. Exiting an investment after five years isn’t unusual for a private equity firm.

Excel is led by Jeff Schwartz, Casey Close and Mark Steinberg. Its client list includes Caitlin Clark, Derek Jeter, Peyton and Eli Manning and Tiger Woods. Excel and Shamrock didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Moelis declined to comment.

Shamrock Capital is a private equity firm with $6.5 billion assets under management. The five-decade-old firm concentrates on media, sports, marketing and communication companies, along with related tech businesses. The company was an early investor in FanDuel, and it has since exited investments in the original Harlem Globetrotters and Learfield.

Among the 23 investments Shamrock currently discloses are part ownership of athlete-led content firm Religion of Sports, a stake in automated sports broadcasting tech firm Pixellot and an interest in Boardwalk Pictures, according to the Shamrock website. Excel has offices in New York, Beverly Hills and Miami.

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