How to invest in a professional sports team without being a millionaire

BOSTON - If you're reading this article from anywhere in the Greater Boston area, it's safe to say that you're likely a sports fan. Boston is Title Town, after all! But let's talk about a way to show your love for the game that you may not have thought of yet. Investing!

Investing in a pro sports team might feel like nothing more than a pipe dream. But we're here to let you know that this dream could actually be more accessible than you think.

James Royal, a senior analyst at Bankrate, explained that there are couple of ways you can get in the game. The first involves investing through a private equity firm.

"If you go with private equity, you get what you get and you don't get to make the choice of what you're investing in," Royal said. He added you'll also need, "a high net worth, of at least a million dollars and you need about $200,000 in income in order to invest."

The second way involves buying into one of the publicly-traded sports teams, using a brokerage account. Yes, it's the same type of brokerage account you need to invest in other stocks. For more information on that, click here.

"It's important, though, if you're going to do that, if you're going to own that share, that you understand the finances of the company, you know? What type of income it's making, what it actually owns. In many cases you might be buying a sports team, but there's real estate that comes with it. Maybe that's the stadium...maybe that's associated real estate around the property. So, you really want to understand exactly what you're buying here," said Royal.

Here are the sports teams you can buy a stake in:

• Atlanta Braves Holdings (Atlanta Braves - MLB)
• Madison Square Garden Sports Corporation (New York Knicks- NBA and New York Rangers - NHL)
• Manchester United (Manchester United Football Club of the English Premier League)

It's important to point out, Royal emphasized, that if you are interested in buying into one of the publicly-traded teams, don't wait. Why? Because he said publicly-traded teams don't often stay that way for long.

"It often gets snatched away by a group of very wealthy people who want to control, want to own, that asset themselves—to put themselves at the center of city social life," Royal explained.

Another upside? "You tend to get more than you've paid for it when it comes time to sell," said Royal.

If for no other reason, Royal said investing in a pro sports team could be a good way to get your children interested in investing, too!