Wrexham’s Rob Mac is one of the sports investment world’s biggest names.
The actor, writer and producer is now as well known as the co-owner of Wrexham as he is for his role in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Three successive promotions, from the National League to the Championship, nearly became four last season. But the Welsh side ultimately missed out on the play-offs on the final day of 2025-26.
Going into 2026-27, Wrexham will have one of the Championship’s very biggest budgets, drawn from their enormous commercial income through sponsorship deals with the likes of United Airlines and Meta, as well as merchandise sales and income from their various exploits in the media.
Since Mac bought into Wrexham alongside Hollywood’s Ryan Reynolds, the club has also secured investment from the billionaire Allyn family and Apollo, one of the world’s largest private equity firms.
Some of that money is going towards expanding the stadium, with the £70m redevelopment of the Racecourse Ground expected to be finalised at some point in the coming season.
And while opinions in the game about Wrexham’s model are split, there is no doubt that Mac and Reynolds fired the starting pistol on the new wave of celebrity investments in football and across sport more broadly.
On an almost daily basis now, the sports business press breaks another story about a celebrity buying into a team. Think: Snoop Dogg and Swansea City, J.J. Watt at Burnley and Will Ferrell at Leeds.
It’s not just teams, either. Indeed, Mac himself is among the cohort of celebrities who have invested in leagues, sports-adjacent technology and a wide range of other avenues.
His latest investment, as relayed by respected industry title Sportico, is in the Premier Lacrosse League.
Mac is part of a $100m fundraise organised by Ares, the private equity firm which controls assets worth $644bn. Other investors include the actor Glen Powell and David Blitzer, who co-owns Crystal Palace, the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils and the Washington Commanders.
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) has now raised $300m since it was founded in 2018.
The new funds have been earmarked to develop the league’s sponsorship, content, women’s leagues and youth offering.
The league is also ramping up ahead of lacrosse’s return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, which is seen as a huge commercial opportunity.
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