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Thought this article was very interesting.thank goodness Jerry isn't on this list
http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?feature=sports_cheapowners
http://sportsillustrated.netscape.cnn.com/sports/story.jsp?feature=sports_cheapowners
Cheapest Owners in Sports
By Steve Seepersaud, AskMen.com
Question: What NFL city lost and gained a team because of owner greed?
(You can find the answer at the end of this article.)
Owners of professional sports teams often have two goals: win championships and make money. Some owners can see the big picture; they're not afraid to spend some bucks if it increases the team's chances of winning and making huge profits.
On the other side of the coin, you have people such as Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, who allegedly told his general manager: "Don't you be thinking about winning any Stanley Cups. They're too expensive." Wirtz and his kind would rather make a killing by keeping costs down.
Let's take a look at some of the biggest misers in pro sports. All amounts of money are in U.S. dollars.
NFL
John York - San Francisco 49ers
Under the direction of Eddie DeBartolo, the 49ers were one of the most dominant teams in the NFL, winning five Super Bowls with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and a laundry list of talented players.
With DeBartolo's brother-in-law John York running the show, the 49ers franchise is a mere shell of its former self. Ray Ratto, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, described York as "a bottom-line guy first, last, and all points in between." For example, York tried to eliminate kids and gifts from the team's Christmas party. On top of that, he tried to keep expenses down by forcing team officials to share hotel rooms and use less bottled water.
In 2004, the team was dead last in payroll, giving players a total of $63 million. The result was an example of "you get what you pay for," as the 49ers finished 2-14.
Quarterback Jeff Garcia was sent packing because he refused to give back half his promised salary; releasing him saved $1.7 million under the 2004 salary cap. Telling Ron Stone to hit the road saved the Niners another $1.4 million. Fans of this team decimated by cheapness would love to see its owner hit the road. If you don't believe us, check out www.dumpyork.com.
Bill Bidwill - Arizona Cardinals
According to the feedback fans sent to ESPN.com Page 2, Bidwill is one of the most reviled owners in sports. His Cardinals had a flash of greatness, making the NFL playoffs in 1998 and surviving the first round. Afterward, star players were exiled, and the team has been lousy ever since.
Cardinals fans have, over the years, said hello and goodbye to Larry Centers, Lomas Brown, Simeon Rice, and Aeneas Williams. Williams made $3.4 million with the Cards in 2000; the following season, he made $6.8 million with the St. Louis Rams. Rice, who made $4.2 million with Arizona in 2000, got sick of playing for tightwad Bidwill. Rice left the desert and went to Tampa Bay, where he got a Super Bowl ring and an annual salary of more than $6 million.
Why were the Kansas City Royals being run like a discount department store?
David Glass - Kansas City Royals
Glass made his fortune as CEO of Wal-Mart, a retailer that offers cost-conscious shoppers some of the lowest prices around. Since he bought the Royals in 2000, he has pinched pennies as many of the chain's customers do.
Because of his aversion to spending, the Royals have traded away some very talented young stars. For example, Glass had no intention to keep Carlos Beltran, who was set to become a free agent following the 2004 season. Conventional wisdom says it's better to trade a player and get something than to let him get away as a free agent and get nothing in return. So, in June of that year, Glass traded Beltran to the Houston Astros; however, the prospects who went to Kansas City in this deal never really panned out. Beltran made $9 million in 2004, but signed a seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets when he left Houston as a free agent.
Beltran isn't the only player who made out better after being shipped out of Kansas City. Jermaine Dye made $11.6 million with the Oakland Athletics in 2003, up from $3.8 million when he was with Kansas, while Johnny Damon got $7.2 million as a member of the Boston Red Sox, up from the $4 million he got while he was with the Royals.
Last year, the Royals were next-to-last in big-league baseball with a $36.8 million payroll. Perhaps Glass is seeing the light, because he vowed to increase payroll to $50 million for this coming season.
Jeffrey Loria - Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins
This wealthy art dealer screwed over two baseball teams, one of which essentially no longer exists. In December of 1999, Loria's holding company bought a 35% interest in the Montreal Expos for $50 million. During his brief term of ownership, the Expos were near the bottom of the league's barrel in payroll.
He sold the team to MLB in 2002 for $120 million in a move that many people call a shell game given that he bought the Florida Marlins for $158.5 million from John Henry. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to America's capital city and labeled them the Washington Nationals.
The former minority owners in Montreal sued Loria in U.S. federal court, claiming he destroyed the team's future in Canada by taking games off local television, alienating sponsors and sabotaging plans to build a new ballpark in downtown Montreal. A district judge eventually threw the case out of court.
Loria's Marlins won the World Series in 2003. But instead of trying to build on that success, the team had a fire sale after the 2005 season ended. The Marlins traded Juan Pierre, who made $3.7 million in 2005, to the Chicago Cubs for prospects and a no-name pitcher. In fact, the Fish unloaded six starters in a span of 14 days.
NBA
Donald Sterling - Los Angeles Clippers
"We don't set out to make money," Clippers executive vice president Andy Roeser said in published reports. "When it comes to winning versus profits, I don't think a well-managed team should have to choose, they should be able to do both. And that's what we want to do."
What hockey owner turned his team into the worst in the league, all in the name of pinching pennies?
. Because of figures like that, the Clippers are one of the league's most profitable teams, even though they've never won a title or even contended for one.
Essentially, Sterling tries to stockpile first-round draft choices and hang onto them for a few seasons while they make relatively low salaries that are mandated by the NBA's pay scale. The hit parade of players who have exited the Clippers includes Danny Manning, Ron Harper, Dominique Wilkins, and more recently, Lamar Odom and Andre Miller.
The Clippers would not match the six-year, $63 million offer sheet Odom signed with the Miami Heat. Sterling also wouldn't counter the six-year, $51 million dollar offer Miller got from the Denver Nuggets.
Jerry Reinsdorf - Chicago Bulls
In the 1990s, Reinsdorf had one of the greatest sports dynasties ever; his Bulls won six NBA titles in a span of eight years. They might have won more if he didn't blow the whole thing up by being stingy.
Before the sixth championship season in 1998, Scottie Pippen threatened to never play for the Bulls again. He was recovering from foot surgery and didn't believe his $2.7 million salary was adequate compensation. Reinsdorf didn't want to spend the necessary dough to keep Pippen in a Bulls uniform, so Michael Jordan's second fiddle went to the Houston Rockets and signed a five-year, $67.2 million contract.
Head coach Phil Jackson chose to leave Chicago after management decided not to give Pippen the big contract he wanted. Jackson and Jordan knew they weren't going to win a seventh title without Pippen. Ironically, Pippen returned to the Bulls in July of 2003, signing a two-year, $10 million deal.
NHL
Bill Wirtz - Chicago Blackhawks
In the last 20 years, people in the windy city have seen the Bears win the Super Bowl, the Bulls win six NBA titles and the White Sox finally win a World Series. However, Chicago has been starved for a Stanley Cup since 1961.
Bill Wirtz's family has owned the Blackhawks throughout that title drought, and he hasn't given fans much in return for their support. The average ticket price is $50, and if fans are not willing to pay up, they don't get to see home games because they're blacked out on local television. Even though the franchise does not try to contend for championships, it made a $1 million profit in 2003.
Helping the bottom line, the team's total payroll was $30.8 million (sixth-lowest in the NHL) during the 2003-04 season. Wirtz's attachment to his money has alienated some good players over the years, including the legendary Bobby Hull and the excellent Tony Amonte. Amonte made $3.4 million in Chicago in 2002 before signing on with Philadelphia, where he made $5.8 million.
When Wirtz did shell out big bucks for a player, it wasn't a wise expense. He signed Theo Fleury to a two-year, $8.5 million deal, which turned out to be a waste when he was suspended for violating the NHL's substance abuse policy.
Jeremy Jacobs - Boston Bruins
Jacobs bought the Bruins in 1975 for $10 million. Over the years, his investment has appreciated in value (the team's worth has been pegged at an alleged $230 million). On top of his assets in hockey, Jacobs' food service and hospitality company, Delaware North, has posted billion-dollar profits.
But despite his riches, and the huge hockey fan base located in the Boston area, Jacobs runs the Bruins like a small-market team. In the 2003-04 season, payroll was $46.5 million, good for 12th-highest in the league. He wasn't willing to spend what was needed to hang onto stars such as Anson Carter, Bill Guerin and Jason Allison. In 2002, Guerin made $5.1 million with the Bruins, then got a substantial raise to $8.7 million with the Dallas Stars.
Instead of building a championship team around hockey legend Ray Bourque, Jacobs traded him to the Colorado Avalanche. It paid off well for No. 77, but Boston is still waiting for its first NHL championship in more than 30 years.
Cheap Entertainment
It's amazing the teams we discussed have any fan following. If a team shows little effort to put a winner on the field, and only serves the interests of one person (its greedy owner), what reason is there for fans to care?
Question: What NFL city lost and gained a team because of owner greed?
Answer: The Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in the middle of the night prior to the 1984 season. Baltimore got a team back when Art Modell moved his Cleveland Browns there and renamed them the Ravens.
Resources:
www.sports.yahoo.com
www.sfgate.com
www.usatoday.com
www.espn.go.com
www.sports.espn.go.com - NBA
www.kansascity.com
www.810whb.com
www.miami.com
www.tsn.ca
www.cincypost.com
www.msn.foxsports.com
www.boston.com
www.en.wikipedia.org
Article Suggested By: Tony K., Denver, CO
By Steve Seepersaud, AskMen.com
Question: What NFL city lost and gained a team because of owner greed?
(You can find the answer at the end of this article.)
Owners of professional sports teams often have two goals: win championships and make money. Some owners can see the big picture; they're not afraid to spend some bucks if it increases the team's chances of winning and making huge profits.
On the other side of the coin, you have people such as Chicago Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz, who allegedly told his general manager: "Don't you be thinking about winning any Stanley Cups. They're too expensive." Wirtz and his kind would rather make a killing by keeping costs down.
Let's take a look at some of the biggest misers in pro sports. All amounts of money are in U.S. dollars.
NFL
John York - San Francisco 49ers
Under the direction of Eddie DeBartolo, the 49ers were one of the most dominant teams in the NFL, winning five Super Bowls with Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Ronnie Lott, and a laundry list of talented players.
With DeBartolo's brother-in-law John York running the show, the 49ers franchise is a mere shell of its former self. Ray Ratto, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, described York as "a bottom-line guy first, last, and all points in between." For example, York tried to eliminate kids and gifts from the team's Christmas party. On top of that, he tried to keep expenses down by forcing team officials to share hotel rooms and use less bottled water.
In 2004, the team was dead last in payroll, giving players a total of $63 million. The result was an example of "you get what you pay for," as the 49ers finished 2-14.
Quarterback Jeff Garcia was sent packing because he refused to give back half his promised salary; releasing him saved $1.7 million under the 2004 salary cap. Telling Ron Stone to hit the road saved the Niners another $1.4 million. Fans of this team decimated by cheapness would love to see its owner hit the road. If you don't believe us, check out www.dumpyork.com.
Bill Bidwill - Arizona Cardinals
According to the feedback fans sent to ESPN.com Page 2, Bidwill is one of the most reviled owners in sports. His Cardinals had a flash of greatness, making the NFL playoffs in 1998 and surviving the first round. Afterward, star players were exiled, and the team has been lousy ever since.
Cardinals fans have, over the years, said hello and goodbye to Larry Centers, Lomas Brown, Simeon Rice, and Aeneas Williams. Williams made $3.4 million with the Cards in 2000; the following season, he made $6.8 million with the St. Louis Rams. Rice, who made $4.2 million with Arizona in 2000, got sick of playing for tightwad Bidwill. Rice left the desert and went to Tampa Bay, where he got a Super Bowl ring and an annual salary of more than $6 million.
Why were the Kansas City Royals being run like a discount department store?
David Glass - Kansas City Royals
Glass made his fortune as CEO of Wal-Mart, a retailer that offers cost-conscious shoppers some of the lowest prices around. Since he bought the Royals in 2000, he has pinched pennies as many of the chain's customers do.
Because of his aversion to spending, the Royals have traded away some very talented young stars. For example, Glass had no intention to keep Carlos Beltran, who was set to become a free agent following the 2004 season. Conventional wisdom says it's better to trade a player and get something than to let him get away as a free agent and get nothing in return. So, in June of that year, Glass traded Beltran to the Houston Astros; however, the prospects who went to Kansas City in this deal never really panned out. Beltran made $9 million in 2004, but signed a seven-year, $119 million deal with the New York Mets when he left Houston as a free agent.
Beltran isn't the only player who made out better after being shipped out of Kansas City. Jermaine Dye made $11.6 million with the Oakland Athletics in 2003, up from $3.8 million when he was with Kansas, while Johnny Damon got $7.2 million as a member of the Boston Red Sox, up from the $4 million he got while he was with the Royals.
Last year, the Royals were next-to-last in big-league baseball with a $36.8 million payroll. Perhaps Glass is seeing the light, because he vowed to increase payroll to $50 million for this coming season.
Jeffrey Loria - Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins
This wealthy art dealer screwed over two baseball teams, one of which essentially no longer exists. In December of 1999, Loria's holding company bought a 35% interest in the Montreal Expos for $50 million. During his brief term of ownership, the Expos were near the bottom of the league's barrel in payroll.
He sold the team to MLB in 2002 for $120 million in a move that many people call a shell game given that he bought the Florida Marlins for $158.5 million from John Henry. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to America's capital city and labeled them the Washington Nationals.
The former minority owners in Montreal sued Loria in U.S. federal court, claiming he destroyed the team's future in Canada by taking games off local television, alienating sponsors and sabotaging plans to build a new ballpark in downtown Montreal. A district judge eventually threw the case out of court.
Loria's Marlins won the World Series in 2003. But instead of trying to build on that success, the team had a fire sale after the 2005 season ended. The Marlins traded Juan Pierre, who made $3.7 million in 2005, to the Chicago Cubs for prospects and a no-name pitcher. In fact, the Fish unloaded six starters in a span of 14 days.
NBA
Donald Sterling - Los Angeles Clippers
"We don't set out to make money," Clippers executive vice president Andy Roeser said in published reports. "When it comes to winning versus profits, I don't think a well-managed team should have to choose, they should be able to do both. And that's what we want to do."
What hockey owner turned his team into the worst in the league, all in the name of pinching pennies?
. Because of figures like that, the Clippers are one of the league's most profitable teams, even though they've never won a title or even contended for one.
Essentially, Sterling tries to stockpile first-round draft choices and hang onto them for a few seasons while they make relatively low salaries that are mandated by the NBA's pay scale. The hit parade of players who have exited the Clippers includes Danny Manning, Ron Harper, Dominique Wilkins, and more recently, Lamar Odom and Andre Miller.
The Clippers would not match the six-year, $63 million offer sheet Odom signed with the Miami Heat. Sterling also wouldn't counter the six-year, $51 million dollar offer Miller got from the Denver Nuggets.
Jerry Reinsdorf - Chicago Bulls
In the 1990s, Reinsdorf had one of the greatest sports dynasties ever; his Bulls won six NBA titles in a span of eight years. They might have won more if he didn't blow the whole thing up by being stingy.
Before the sixth championship season in 1998, Scottie Pippen threatened to never play for the Bulls again. He was recovering from foot surgery and didn't believe his $2.7 million salary was adequate compensation. Reinsdorf didn't want to spend the necessary dough to keep Pippen in a Bulls uniform, so Michael Jordan's second fiddle went to the Houston Rockets and signed a five-year, $67.2 million contract.
Head coach Phil Jackson chose to leave Chicago after management decided not to give Pippen the big contract he wanted. Jackson and Jordan knew they weren't going to win a seventh title without Pippen. Ironically, Pippen returned to the Bulls in July of 2003, signing a two-year, $10 million deal.
NHL
Bill Wirtz - Chicago Blackhawks
In the last 20 years, people in the windy city have seen the Bears win the Super Bowl, the Bulls win six NBA titles and the White Sox finally win a World Series. However, Chicago has been starved for a Stanley Cup since 1961.
Bill Wirtz's family has owned the Blackhawks throughout that title drought, and he hasn't given fans much in return for their support. The average ticket price is $50, and if fans are not willing to pay up, they don't get to see home games because they're blacked out on local television. Even though the franchise does not try to contend for championships, it made a $1 million profit in 2003.
Helping the bottom line, the team's total payroll was $30.8 million (sixth-lowest in the NHL) during the 2003-04 season. Wirtz's attachment to his money has alienated some good players over the years, including the legendary Bobby Hull and the excellent Tony Amonte. Amonte made $3.4 million in Chicago in 2002 before signing on with Philadelphia, where he made $5.8 million.
When Wirtz did shell out big bucks for a player, it wasn't a wise expense. He signed Theo Fleury to a two-year, $8.5 million deal, which turned out to be a waste when he was suspended for violating the NHL's substance abuse policy.
Jeremy Jacobs - Boston Bruins
Jacobs bought the Bruins in 1975 for $10 million. Over the years, his investment has appreciated in value (the team's worth has been pegged at an alleged $230 million). On top of his assets in hockey, Jacobs' food service and hospitality company, Delaware North, has posted billion-dollar profits.
But despite his riches, and the huge hockey fan base located in the Boston area, Jacobs runs the Bruins like a small-market team. In the 2003-04 season, payroll was $46.5 million, good for 12th-highest in the league. He wasn't willing to spend what was needed to hang onto stars such as Anson Carter, Bill Guerin and Jason Allison. In 2002, Guerin made $5.1 million with the Bruins, then got a substantial raise to $8.7 million with the Dallas Stars.
Instead of building a championship team around hockey legend Ray Bourque, Jacobs traded him to the Colorado Avalanche. It paid off well for No. 77, but Boston is still waiting for its first NHL championship in more than 30 years.
Cheap Entertainment
It's amazing the teams we discussed have any fan following. If a team shows little effort to put a winner on the field, and only serves the interests of one person (its greedy owner), what reason is there for fans to care?
Question: What NFL city lost and gained a team because of owner greed?
Answer: The Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in the middle of the night prior to the 1984 season. Baltimore got a team back when Art Modell moved his Cleveland Browns there and renamed them the Ravens.
Resources:
www.sports.yahoo.com
www.sfgate.com
www.usatoday.com
www.espn.go.com
www.sports.espn.go.com - NBA
www.kansascity.com
www.810whb.com
www.miami.com
www.tsn.ca
www.cincypost.com
www.msn.foxsports.com
www.boston.com
www.en.wikipedia.org
Article Suggested By: Tony K., Denver, CO
