MrBeast, the world’s most-subscribed YouTuber, is known for his over-the-top antics and has a wild net worth. So when he posted a video saying he had officially bought the NFL, he had a lot of people wondering if it was true.
On September 3, MrBeast, whose real name is James Stephen Donaldson, shared a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, that has already been viewed over 4.9 million times. "I bought the NFL and put a YouTuber on each team!" he wrote.
The video was well-produced and convincing, with a press conference held by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "Today marks a historic first. The NFL is now under the ownership of one individual, Jimmy Donaldson, MrBeast," Goodell says.
Donaldson joins him, saying, “That is right, I officially own the NFL. And I think it’s time for some changes.” He went on to say they were changing the roster from 53 players to 54 and giving the new spot to a YouTuber.
The video features creators like Haylee Baylee, who immediately calls dibs on the Minnesota Viking, IShowSpeed, decked out in a Miami Dolphins jersey, and Brooke Monk, popping in via phone to claim the Broncos.
Before any football fans panic, MrBeast does not actually own the NFL. The NFL is owned by more than 537,000 stakeholders, and the average team value now sits at $7.1 billion, according to Forbes. Each of the 32 teams has a principal owner, except for the Green Bay Packers, which is publicly run by a board of directors.
The video is a PR stunt to promote YouTube’s exclusive streaming of Friday night’s big game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs, for free. “Don’t miss the game,” he teased in the video’s caption, hinting at a “special surprise” for viewers.
This isn’t the first time MrBeast has made headlines. He currently has 431 million subscribers on YouTube and was recently named the top content creator in the world by Forbes, which reported his 2023 earnings at $85 million. Although MrBeast shut down the claims, leaving people to wonder if he actually made more. The YouTuber has a reported net worth of $1B.
His videos range from elaborate, high-budget stunts, like the $1 vs. $1,000,000,000 Nuclear Bunker challenge, which has 68 million views, to massive charitable campaigns. Earlier this year, he launched #TeamWater, which raised $40 million to provide clean water to two million people for decades.
The Chiefs vs. Chargers game will air Friday, September 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET, exclusively on YouTube, marking a major moment in sports streaming and digital entertainment.