With the Mega Millions jackpot once again rolling over Tuesday night after another drawing without a winner, the current pot is expected to cross the billion-dollar threshold for only the third time in the game’s history.
The estimated jackpot for Friday night’s drawing is $1.02 billion (cash value: $602.5 million), according to the game’s website.
The interesting thing about winning a billion dollars is that it opens up parameters of spending that most people can’t even fathom. Buying a home, a new car, setting up a college fund for the kids… those big investments are like doing the weekly grocery shopping when there’s a cool billion in the bank.
So what could a billion dollars truly do for you?
For starters, you could become the owner of a lower-tier sports franchise.
Major League Soccer’s most valuable franchise, Los Angeles FC, is worth $860 million, which means any MLS team is there for the taking if the owner is willing. But a pretty big chunk of the National Hockey League would also be on the table. Only 10 NHL franchises are worth over a billion dollars.
(You’d have to take home two jackpots to bid for the NHL’s most valuable team. The Toronto Maple Leafs are valued at an even $2 billion.)
Unfortunately, the three most well-known sports leagues might be out of reach at first. The most affordable Major League Baseball franchise, the Miami Marlins, recently elevated their value over the billion-dollar threshold to $1.06 billion.
In the NBA, the floor is $1.51 billion to get into the owner’s suite of the most affordable hoops franchise, the New Orleans Pelicans. And as for the NFL… let’s hope you make some wealthy friends who also enjoy the pigskin as much as you.
The Cincinnati Bengals, fresh off of an appearance in the Super Bowl, are the National Football League’s most affordable team at $2.4 billion.
(All team valuations courtesy of Sportico.)
But what if you’re more artsy than sportsy? In that case, I’ve got good news. You could purchase some of the world’s most valuable art and still have plenty left over to commission just about anything you’d like from living artists.
The most expensive painting ever sold was auctioned off in 2016 – the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci was sold by Christie’s New York for only $450 million.
And as for art that’s not for sale, da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was assessed to be worth $100 million back in 1962. Adjusted for inflation, it jumps to $860 million in modern dollars – still within your billion-dollar price range.
Maybe you’d prefer some mood music to help you celebrate your winnings. Even the most expensive musical acts – big-time names like Justin Bieber, Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen – command ONLY about $1 million per performance.
You could easily put together your own festival without your bottom line changing all that much.
So go ahead. Dream big when you plunk your money down for that ticket to Friday’s drawing. And then dream bigger.
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