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Role of Ownership in Professional Sports

WindyCityDeac

WindyCityDeac

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With the Commanders on the brink of being sold, I've seen a lot about Daniel Snyder being "worst owner in sports" etc. My question though is objectively is he and why ?
He clearly is making money off the sale, so the ownership was objectively successful.

Is the role of ownership to win ? Is it to increase profitability for shareholders/family ? Engender good will in the community ? Is it a sacred trust with the community ?
Ideally all of the above...but what is the primary charter ?

I don't have an answer but thought it would be an interesting discussion among the giant brains here on the board.
 
It is all of those things. Just like most everything in life the definition of success is dependent on the motivations and goals of the individuals. Some would see Snyder as a successful owner simply because he made a ton of money. Others would say he was a failure as an owner because the team never won anything under his ownership, and he was mostly hated by the fanbase.

I think that the main goal would be to leave a franchise better than it was when you bought it- in terms of on the field success, financial stability, and goodwill of the community.
 
They never won

There was a long detailed history of sexual harassment in the workplace, including the cheerleaders being strongly encouraged/downright forced to be prostitutes on a VIP trip to Mexico

He dug in his heels about a racially offensive nickname until he could no longer overcome the tide (in part because of the first two issues which of reversed could have earned him some goodwill) then settled for a meh replacement

But yeah, got paid
 
thatguy2016 said:
They never won

There was a long detailed history of sexual harassment in the workplace, including the cheerleaders being strongly encouraged/downright forced to be prostitutes on a VIP trip to Mexico

He dug in his heels about a racially offensive nickname until he could no longer overcome the tide (in part because of the first two issues which of reversed could have earned him some goodwill) then settled for a meh replacement

But yeah, got paid
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Yeah i suppose Snyder is a bad example to lead with. He's objectively a bad guy. The sale of Wash is what got me thinking about this...only reason i referenced him
 
Win #1. Thats the goal. That's what every single owner stands up in their intro press conference and promises to the fans. They don't talk about creating franchise value, that's only for them. You have a responsibility to that community and fan base to win games.
 
I would think it would be pretty hard NOT to make money owning a sports team, especially in US sports where salaries are largely capped and owners are able to extort cities to pay for their stadiums and such.

Jeffrey Loria made tons of money off owning two baseball teams, and he is now despised by both fanbases. (One of which no longer has a team.)
 
Step 1) Take out a massive loan with the sports franchise you are about to buy as collateral then buy that franchise and put that loan onto the club's accounts and off yours.
Step 2) ????
Step 3) Profit.
 
all these fucking ghouls have more money than they could ever spend in their lives. Spending an extra 0.1% of their wealth to actually try to have a winning team would be way more fun if they were actually capable of normal human emotion. But almost every single one is a fucking sociopath, so they don't.
 
deacvision7 said:
Step 1) Take out a massive loan with the sports franchise you are about to buy as collateral then buy that franchise and put that loan onto the club's accounts and off yours.
Step 2) ????
Step 3) Profit.
Click to expand...
Most leagues limit the amount of borrowed money that can be used toward the purchase price.
 
avalon said:
I would think it would be pretty hard NOT to make money owning a sports team, especially in US sports where salaries are largely capped and owners are able to extort cities to pay for their stadiums and such.
Click to expand...
Counterpoint: The Arizona Coyotes who have declared bankruptcy in the 21st century and now play their games in a 5,000 seat arena on ASU's campus, after being locked out of their former home for unpaid taxes. These things were done by two different ownership groups by the way.
 
TimmyClutch said:
Counterpoint: The Arizona Coyotes who have declared bankruptcy in the 21st century and now play their games in a 5,000 seat arena on ASU's campus, after being locked out of their former home for unpaid taxes. These things were done by two different ownership groups by the way.
Click to expand...

Maybe I need to add a caveat for stupid decisions by league commissioners, like moving ice hockey teams from Canada to the desert and blocking any attempts to move them back.

Even so, the biggest windfall for team owners is when they sell the team, and it looks like the Coyotes sold for $$$$$$$$$.
 
TimmyClutch said:
Counterpoint: The Arizona Coyotes who have declared bankruptcy in the 21st century and now play their games in a 5,000 seat arena on ASU's campus, after being locked out of their former home for unpaid taxes. These things were done by two different ownership groups by the way.
Click to expand...
Actually, that is pretty wild. I don't follow the NHL but I still think I would have heard about that story.

Having said said, the pandemic showed us that sports are the opiate of the masses for the US. Unlike churches, which Karl Marx labeled the opiate of the masses, sports teams are getting taxed and still making a lot of money.
 
It's almost impossible to lose money owning a major sports franchise in the US. You could do nothing with it and lose repeatedly and still sell for X times what you bought it for.
 
Wakeforest22890 said:
It's almost impossible to lose money owning a major sports franchise in the US. You could do nothing with it and lose repeatedly and still sell for X times what you bought it for.
Click to expand...
For a while there have been more people with stupid money than available franchises. And the leagues are keeping it that way. Franchise value will increase as long as their is increasing revenue. Right now much of that revenue is media money.
 
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