MSP Sports Capital have purchased a controlling stake in the X Games brand from entertainment company ESPN.

As part of the sale agreement, ESPN will retain a minority interest and continue as the X Games domestic broadcast partner.

However, ESPN will cede day-to-day operation of the X Games franchise to MSP, which is led by prolific sports agent and businessman, Jeff Moorad.

As a first act as majority shareholder, MSP recruited 10-time X Games winner, Tony Hawk, as a brand steward and member of the advisory board.

On the changes, Hawk said: “Skateboarding is part of my DNA and I support a community where change and advances in action sports is happening on a daily basis.”

“Being part of the advisory board for X Games is an extension of my decades of competing and much more forgiving to the body, and I look forward to being constantly inspired by so many incredible athletes,” he added.

The X Games, featuring BMX, skateboarding and extreme snowsports, was founded in 1995 by ESPN.

Reflecting on the X Games, ESPN chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, commented: “”We’re proud of what we’ve created with our employees and the athletes over nearly 30 years of world-class X Games events and content.”

“We now look forward to an exciting next chapter with MSP Sports Capital, which has a proven track record of excellence in sports and a dynamic vision for the continued growth and progression of the industry-leading action sports brand,” he said.

MSP have added the X Games to a portfolio including a stake in McLaren Racing and football teams in Spain, Germany and Belgium.

The first MSP-run X Games event will be held in Aspen, Colorado in January 2023.

Rumours of the acquisition had been circulating for over a year.