Todd Boehly is remaking Chelsea and angering some supporters in the process.

But while Boehly attempts to guide his club back into the Champions League, the Blues and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner is having even bigger thoughts about the future of the Premier League.

Asked about his current view of a 2022 purchase of Chelsea that totaled £4.25 billion, including £2.5bn for the team, Boehly responded with a fascinating ‘what-if’ answer that brought the NFL, Netflix and Premier League together.

“I think as an investor in sports and sports clubs and the ability to really drive emotions and outcomes, and I think that the top brands are well equipped to continue to grow in value,” Boehly said on Thursday at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London.

“If you look at the NFL, the NFL is probably worth $200 billion altogether. Netflix trades at $400 billion.

“So the question is would you rather own the NFL at 200 (billion) or would you rather own Netflix at 400 (billion)? And I would think that my bet would be, I’d rather own the NFL.

“I mean, they’re going to continue to create amazing content. Ninety-seven of the top broadcasts in the US are NFL games. They single-handedly kind of drive viewership in such a way.”

The NFL is increasingly becoming a global sport while aiming for $25 billion in annual revenue by 2027.

The Premier League, the peak of the English Football League pyramid, makes an estimated $7 billion annually and trails the NBA and MLB in revenue.

With Netflix and Amazon providing international streaming platforms that were unthinkable a decade ago, the NFL is now leaping across continents.

The league spent its recent Super Bowl week in New Orleans, once again putting on the biggest show in the world, while announcing upcoming international games in Melbourne, Australia and Dublin, Ireland.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell acknowledged during a press conference that an international Super Bowl is part of the league’s future growth plan.

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“Global is something that we’re intent on becoming — a global sport,” Goodell said.

Boehly made it clear that he would prefer to have the $200bn NFL in his financial portfolio instead of $400bn Netflix, and he leaned on that comparison while explaining his current view of his Chelsea purchase.

“If you look at football in Europe, I think there’s an evolution that’s going to go on,” said Boehly, who is the co-founder and chairman of Eldridge Industries, and has a net worth estimated at $8.5 billion.

“I think the stadiums were built with this kind of utilitarian mindset … You’re going to see a continued evolution of the product and the offering.

“That will obviously reinforce the ability to continue to grow revenue, because in the end I think if you can continue to grow revenue, you’re going to continue to grow value.

“So ultimately there’s a little bit of an unorganized landscape in European football, which reminds me a little bit of what’s going on in the RSN (regional sports networks) markets in America.”

Boehly’s Dodgers stunned baseball by prying away Shohei Ohtani from the cross-town rival Los Angeles Angels for a then-record $700 million in December 2023.

The Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees 4-1 in the 2024 World Series, and enter a new MLB season with a league-high $321 million payroll.

Boehly also drew a connection between how the Dodgers built an annual World Series contender and Chelsea’s ongoing remake.

The Blues have since spent over £1 billion on player transfers and fired three permanent managers since his 2022 purchase.

A group of Chelsea fans held a protest march on Tuesday on the way to Stamford Bridge, imploring Boehly and his consortium to sell a club that currently sits fifth in the Premier League.

“If you look at the Dodgers, we won the World Series last year and had an amazing offseason,” Boehly said.

“So you can’t rest if you want to really be building something that’s the best or top, right?

“Because even if you’re building the best, what are your odds of winning it all every year, given that there’s 20 or 32 or 30 (teams), because everyone wants to win?”

As for the protests before a 4-0 home win over Southampton, Boehly was adamant that he remains pointed forward with Chelsea and isn’t keen on looking backward.

“The sooner you learn you are not going to keep all the people happy all the time, the freedom shows up,” he said.

“We are just trying to execute a plan and recognise things aren’t linear, and we are trending in the right direction. The trend is moving in the right direction and that’s the thing that really matters.”

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