SailGP Media Conference: Money, money, money...Growth, growth, growth
by Richard Gladwell/Sail-World.com/nz 13 Feb 04:51 GMT
Sir Russell Coutts, SailGP CEO, laughs alongside Mike Cazer, CEO of American Magic, during the pre-event press conference ahead of the ITM New Zealand Sail Grand Prix in Auckland, New Zealand - February 13, 2026 © Simon Bruty/SailGP
One of the worst kept secrets in sailing was confirmed just ahead of today's SailGP Media Conference.
The news of the $60million purchase of the Rockwool Denmark team by Doug DeVos, son of Amway co-founder Richard DeVos, triggered some re-evaluation of what other teams and investments might be worth.
In the early days of SailGP the a spot as one of the first six teams could be purchased for just $5million, last year CEO Russell Coutts said the League would not sell a team spot for less than $55million, and today's $60million is a step up again.
Just two of the soon to be 14 teams are owned by the SailGP League. Los Gallos (Spain) confirmed that there was a sale in the wings, but not yet confirmed. Skipper Diego Botin said that the sale was advanced, but the detail was not yet done. "Hopefully we can close those soon, and make an announcement," he said.
Black Foils co-founder, Peter Burling was non-committal around the sale of the high-profile team, saying there were always conversations taking place around both sponsorship and investors. "It's something we continue to work on," he said. "One of the major selling points of the Black Foils is the team culture, and the performance we achieve as a team. This weekend we are making sure that we keep that benchmark super high."
The other feature of the Media Conference was the announcement by Russell Coutts that the League will commission a smaller version of the F50, to provide training and development of Youth and Women sailors, to extend the talent base for the 14 teams currently in SailGP, with an expectation that will grow to 20 teams.
This year, in the six week transfer window that closed on January 7, there were 23 sailor transfers registered. With the expansion of the League and to replace sailors who are retiring or moving to other professional sailing opportunities, bigger talent pool and development pathway is required.
The idea is in its early stages, and Coutts dropped some very broad hints in the direction of American Magic CEO, Mike Cazer, during the Media Conference, that the Pensacola based outfit could partner with the League in the development and production of the new class.