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K. Don Cornwell did not arrive at sports ownership through the typical route of net worth first, passion second. He spent 30 years inside the industry, advising the families who owned the Bills, the Steelers, and the Maple Leafs on how to sell, refinance, and structure deals worth billions.
At Morgan Stanley, where he spent 18 years and eventually ran its global sports investment banking practice, he was the man leagues and owners called when the numbers got complicated. At PJT Partners, the boutique advisory firm he joined in 2015 as one of its first eight employees, he kept doing the same thing while watching private equity begin circling the asset class he understood better than almost anyone.
In 2022, he made the shift from advisor to owner, co-founding Dynasty Equity with Jonathan Nelson, the billionaire behind Providence Equity. What followed was a rapid accumulation of stakes in some of the most recognizable properties in global sport. Here is a breakdown of the key businesses behind that portfolio.
1. Dynasty Equity
Dynasty Equity is Cornwell's flagship vehicle and the structure through which everything else flows. Co-founded in 2022 and headquartered in New York, the firm focuses exclusively on minority investments across the sports ecosystem, targeting franchises, leagues and adjacent operating businesses.
In 2024, the firm held $343 million in assets under management and was one of only seven private equity firms approved by the NFL to acquire stakes in league franchises. That approval put Dynasty in the same group as Blackstone, Carlyle and Ares, firms with a combined two-plus trillion dollars under management. The firm operates with a 21-person team and has partnered with Carlyle to pursue NFL-specific opportunities.
2. Liverpool FC
Liverpool FC was Dynasty Equity's first investment and remains its most prominent. Cornwell's firm acquired a strategic minority stake in the club in September 2023 through Fenway Sports Group, with the investment valued between $100 million and $200 million.
The capital went toward reducing pandemic-era debt and funding infrastructure upgrades at Anfield Stadium. Liverpool, which has won six European Cups and 19 league titles, carries a global fanbase and commercial footprint that makes it one of the most bankable assets in professional sport. Cornwell sits as a key stakeholder in a club that is also owned by FSG, the Boston-based group that controls the Red Sox and Pittsburgh Penguins.
3. TMRW Sports
Dynasty co-led the Series A funding round for TMRW Sports in January 2024 as part of a $75 million raise. TMRW Sports was founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and media executive Mike McCarley and is the parent company of TGL, a technology-driven golf league that blends live competition with simulator-based play in a purpose-built arena.
Cornwell joined the TMRW Sports board as an observer following the investment. The league, which launched in January 2025, targets younger sports fans and represents a bet that golf's commercial model is expanding beyond its traditional audience.
4. Unrivaled Sports
Unrivaled Sports is Dynasty's most recent addition, with the investment completed in May 2025 as part of a funding round led by DICK'S Sporting Goods. Unrivaled Sports operates as the largest platform for youth sports experiences in the United States, hosting over 600,000 young athletes annually across 30 states.
Its portfolio includes Cooperstown All-Star Village, Ripken Baseball Experiences and Rocker B Ranch. The company was co-founded by David Blitzer and Josh Harris, two of the more active sports investors in the country. Dynasty joined LionTree and Miller Sports and Entertainment as minority investors in the round.
5. PJT Partners
Cornwell serves on the board of directors of PJT Partners, the advisory-focused investment bank he helped build from the ground up before departing to launch Dynasty. He joined the board in January 2023, maintaining a formal role at the institution even after leaving as a partner.
PJT Partners, listed on the NYSE under the ticker PJT, carries a market capitalization of approximately $5 billion. It has grown from eight employees in 2015 to more than 800. Cornwell's seat on the board ties him to one of the most active advisory firms in sports and entertainment M&A, a sector he spent three decades defining.
