A few weeks ago, Rob Manfred claimed that being an owner in MLB was “riskier than putting money on the stock market.” No need to tell you that it made people talk a bit.
But obviously, several shareholders have a good portfolio and they have made good investments. It’s the kind of investment you have when you go back in time to buy the first shares of Apple, let’s say.
Take the example of the Chicago Cubs. Since the Ricketts family bought the club in 2009, its value has soared from $845m to $3.36bn. And this, despite the COVID-19 pandemic and its financial impacts.
According to Bernie Sanders, the value of the 30 teams has increased by $41 billion since the current owners bought the club.
The 30 Major League Baseball owners are worth over $100 billion. The value of their teams increased by more than $41 billion since they bought them. Mr. Manfred: End the lockout. Negotiate in good faith. Don’t let the greed of baseball owners take away our national past time.
—Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 2, 2022
Meanwhile, some players are struggling to make ends meet. Not the wealthiest in the world, but the players straddling AAA and the Majors who are on the 40-man Majors roster.
Why am I telling you this? Because to see the owners of the Cubs being in the race under the current conditions to buy the club from Chelsea, in the Premier Leaguein fact react more than one.
Report: Cubs owners considering offer to buy Chelsea https://t.co/b6Y9jH9YD0 pic.twitter.com/9a3r8KWVVE
— theScore MLB (@theScoreMLB) March 7, 2022
Players are frustrated that clubs don’t want to pay for their players, but investments like buying Chelsea FC are on the table.
Bosses can go a year without baseball and survive. Saving your money for something else hurts the players, therefore.
MLB owners can afford to lose a full season of baseball to the lockout, according to a new analysis from Fitch Ratings.@owenpoindexter has more on the agency’s dive into MLB’s finances ⤵️
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 4, 2022
The Chelsea club is on sale for at least three billion dollars. The Ricketts family would be looking for partners.
In 2020, Cubs controlling shareholder Tom Ricketts said it was going to take a long time (a long time) to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Selling club shares was also on the table.
Tom Ricketts on June 2, 2020: ‘The scale of losses across the league is biblical. In the long run, we may be able to sell equity to cover some of our losses but that’s in the long run.” https://t.co/khpOLbBXLc
—Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) March 6, 2022
Also remember that the Cubs failed to reach an agreement with the stars of the club (Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez) last summer, which launched a reconstruction in town.
And since the owners of the Red Sox are also in the process of expansion (buying a basketball club is in the plans), this has something to upset the players even more.
The owners of the #RedSox and #Cubs are considering buying teams in other sports leagues.https://t.co/vWTS8d7pck pic.twitter.com/5HfaXUM9Qn
— MLB Trade Rumors (@mlbtraderumors) March 7, 2022
In a conflict as important as that between players and owners, anything can insult the other party. And obviously, some bosses have found the right way.
I’m sure it’s used by the MLBPA in discussions between the two groups.
