Saudi Arabia Wants To Buy More Sports Teams... Is NFL In The Future?

Just a month after Saudi Arabia's LIV Golf shocked the sports world by partnering with the PGA Tour (who said they never would) it appears the Saudis aren't done yet. According to a new Financial Times report, the Kingdom is set to launch a multibillion-dollar investment company whose prime purpose is to "expand its sports interests following its power grab in golf."

Yes, that's right. Don't look now but the Saudis are not done yet and they want to have all the power, all the money, and all the control... from geopolitics to oil to now the sports and entertainment world.

The new group's target? "Soccer, tennis and 'other sports." Could this mean we will eventually see the NFL play in Saudi Arabia? I don't want to say I told you so... but, I told you so.

SAUDIS MAKING INROADS EVERYWHERE

The new Saudi sports group will be part of the well-known Saudi Public Investment Fund that was the main drive behind LIV's massive PGA deal. They essentially have unlimited funds, or as the Times calls it "a war chest to fund its expansion."

In recent months the PIF has made massive deals with the WWE, professional boxing, Formula 1 racing, soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and most recently, LIV-PGA. They aren't stopping anytime soon.

As I wrote months before the LIV-PGA deal, the Saudis want to be the leading sports juggernaut. They want to "Sportswash" the 'other things' that they are involved in (and as we know, there are many...) and distract investors and companies to the glitz and the glam; which is all possible because of the massive amount of money they have.

The Saudis biggest power play would be to work with the NFL. I hypothesized that we were only 5 years away from an NFL game being played in Saudi Arabia. The expansion of the NFL playing more games in Europe made it seem only logical that the Saudis would be next - especially with their financial influence

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell may have a problem if Saudi Arabia creates their own football league. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

SAUDIS TO WORK WITH NFL? OR FORM RIVAL?

With news of the Saudis actively creating another investment company whose sole purpose is to focus on sports leagues, what happens if they try to form a competitor to the NFL? It wouldn't have to mean the players would actually play in Saudi Arabia, it could just be a rival league here in the United States. With the Saudis enormous cash pot, they could offer some BIG deals to football stars and begin pulling them away just like they did with the PGA.

The Saudis either partnering with the NFL or creating a separate league may seem a bit far-fetched. But if you really think about it, the writing is on the wall. Companies and sports leagues are looking to make profit. The Saudis - with their massive oil revenues and arms deals have an unlimited amount of it. The PGA Tour were the first sellouts that literally went against their morals and principles, with PGA Commissioner Jay Monahan forever ruining his reputation (hope it was worth it, Jay!).

If somehow the Saudis got involved with the NFL, there would be no coming back. The sports world would forever change and it would make it that much more difficult to hold the Saudis and their leaders accountable with any future political matters.