JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) established a new "Sports Investment Banking Coverage" group and named heads of the program that will advise JPMorgan's sports clients around the world.

"This group will leverage J.P. Morgan’s substantial capabilities across Investment Banking, Commercial Banking and the Private Bank to deliver holistic advisory and financing solutions for our current and prospective sports clients globally," Global Head of Media and Communications for Investment Banking Fred Turpin said in an internal memo sent to employees Tuesday that was shared with Investopedia.

The memo valued top sports franchises in the U.S. and Europe at more than $400 billion collectively, and called them "an increasingly large asset class," attracting more and more institutional investors.

JPMorgan and other banks have advised on sports mergers and acquisitions (M&A) without dedicated sports divisions in the past, and have often pulled bankers from other teams to do so, according to Bloomberg. While the overall M&A sector was down in 2023, the sports sector remained strong with a record of more than $25 billion in mergers and acquisitions last year.

Eric Menell and Gian Piero Sammartano have been selected to lead the new advisory group, according to the memo. Menell assumes the role from his current position as co-head of North American Media Investment Banking, and Sammartano joins after serving in the same position for JPMorgan's Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) investment banking operations.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) created a similar "sports franchise" unit within its investment banking operations last year, as investment banks work to capitalize on the massive increase in valuations of sports teams in the last several years.

JPMorgan said in the memo that it has advised a number of sports franchises and clients like Liberty Media, the owners of Formula One Racing, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Juventus FC, and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, whose purchase of a minority stake in U.K. soccer team Manchester United was finalized last month.

The new sports group isn't JPMorgan's first step into the world of sports, as the banking giant has an existing sports financing group that has advised or financed a number of deals for new stadiums. "We are excited about the growth opportunities of our global sports practice backed by the collective efforts of colleagues across the firm," Turpin wrote.