Red Sox FOR SALE: time for Red Sox Nation to buy the team
By Earl Nash
The Red Sox are FOR SALE and it is time for the citizens of Red Sox Nation to prepare their purchase offer. If the Packer fans in Green Bay can do it, so can we!
We “know” that the Red Sox will be FOR SALE, because the media is abuzz and the twits are tweeting all about Red Sox owner, John Henry, denying rumors that he is putting the team on the market.
“The owners of the Boston Red Sox are mulling a potential sale of the storied baseball franchise, and have even begun quietly shopping the team to potential buyers, the FOX Business Network has learned.”
[http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2012/09/13/boston-red-sox-could-be-on-block/]
Put on you “Captain of Industry” costume and think like one:
An investor bought a commodity for $700 million in 2002 and it is now appraised at $1.3 BILLION.
"FUN FACT: There are one-thousand, millions, in one-billion."
So, there’s 1,000 million + a third of a billion [333 million] = $1,333 million.
Thus: 1,333 minus 700 = about 700 million.
Looks like the investor has about doubled his money.
The commodity might be worth even more now, since the owner cut payroll by about $250 million.
Also, beginning in 2014, the financial entity will receive a windfall of $12 million a year for 8 years from the new MLB media rights contract signed with ESPN.
Also, there will be new contracts with Fox, NBC and Turner negotiating for those packages. Fox’ seven-year deal with MLB ends after next season. It is worth $257.1M per year and includes the Saturday Game of the Week, one LCS and the World Series. Turner’s seven-year deal with MLB also concludes at the end of next year. It is worth $148.6M annually. And, MLB is expected to carve out a package for its MLB Network, as well. The new deals with Fox and Turner are expected to nearly DOUBLE in value, making them worth a total of about $650 million annually.
Divide that $650 million by 30 and add another $21.6 million to the Red Sox profit of $12 million from ESPN and that makes $36.6 million per year to the bottom line.
And, NBC is currently mulling signing a separate deal with MLB; last spring NBC sprung for nearly $2 billion for the rights to broadcast the NHL.
With the Sox clearly for sale, it is time for the citizens of Red Sox Nation to prepare an offer for their team.
My attorney, barrister Sosumi suggests that we could find a free attorney, who is required to work “pro boner” to get things rolling. Fokayu says: he cannot work for free; he has his hands full with me and other clients who are anonymous non-members of un-organized crime.
However, as a fervent Red Sox fan, he as generously drafted a petition.
PETITION FOR THE FORMATION OF THE RED SOX NATION, INC.
AND THE PURCHASE OF THE BOSTON RED SOX
FROM FENWAY SPORTS GROUP
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WHEREAS the ownership group of the Boston Red Sox, through greed and lack of baseball knowledge, while reaping huge profits [doubling the value of the team and making profits from ticket and concession sales], has been unwilling to reinvest profits back into improving the 40-man roster, and has been a failure at fielding a competitive team causing pain and suffering to countless citizens of Red Sox Nation.
The people of the Commonwealths of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, as well as the worldwide citizens of Red Sox Nation, do herewith request intercession and offer these two remedies, in order of preference, to the court.
1. Allow the Red Sox fans to implement the fan-ownership model that has been successful for the fans of the Green Bay Packers; to wit: Green Bay Packers, Inc. a nonprofit corporation held by the citizens of Green Bay to run their football team.
2. Alternatively, we ask the Governor of Massachusetts and the Mayor of Boston to seize the team as a “public good” and/or as a State and National “historical treasure” to prevent a valuable asset from being moved or squandered, or sheltered offshore. This might be accomplished under the aegis of “eminent domain” through the office of the Massachusetts’ Attorney General, or as an act of “martial law” by the Governor of Massachusetts, or even as an omnibus emergency intervention on the part of Child Protective Services, in order that the children in Red Sox Nation not be subjected to future seasons of graceless, hapless, joyless, non-competitive baseball.
3. We then request that the court allow the new non-profit corporation, Red Sox Nation, Inc., or the Massachusetts’ Attorney General, or other such governmental agency to sue Major League Baseball to revise its ownership rules to allow a the fans who own shares in Red Sox Nation, Inc., to run the Red Sox team as a non-profit fan-owned holding company.
4. We further petition to model our Red Sox Nation, Inc. corporation after the Green Bay Packers, Inc. by likewise selling shares to the public in our nonprofit holding company that would operate the Boston Red Sox, Inc., in the same manner as the Green Bay Packers or FC Barcelona. The initial offering would be 11 million shares at $91.18 each with a limit of 10 shares per buyer.
5. The new Boston Red Sox, Inc. would purchase the Boston Red Sox team, Fenway Park, NESN and any other baseball-related entities, but not any soccer-related entities, from the current ownership, the Fenway Sports Group, for a fair market price for the team, currently estimated @ $1.3 Billion, less the appraised value of the soccer team known as Liverpool F.C., as well as any other entities not related or required by the Boston Red Sox.
Respectfully submitted by the following undersigned citizens of Red Sox Nation.
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And now, your humble scribe must return to the unending search for truth and justice for our next article on the Bosox Injection. Mr. Styalko, our Editor in Chief always kindly reminds us with a smile: we’re making the big money and, “To whom much is given, much is expected.”
We are hopeful that someone will pick up the ball and run with a petition, so the fans can own their Red Sox.
We have applied a strip of masking tape to a Ball jar and marked it “Red Sox: $91.18.”
When someone has the time, we’ll have that money.
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