On December 11th 2008 a date that Met fans have come to call "Black Thursday" Bernie Madoff was arrested for securities fraud. Those who had invested money with his firm stood to lose everything. For Met fans, the owners of their beloved team stood to lose a lot of money, but they assured the fans, "This will not affect the team."Later we learned that the Wilpons, good friends of Bernie Madoff, may have actually profited from the legendary ponzi scheme. If not profit, perhaps they had, at least, colluded with the swindler to rob others.
The court case seems to be favoring the Wilpons... a little, but does that mean they should still own the team?
NO!
What happens when Frank McCourt has an ugly divorce and can't sustain a major market team? The league steps in and takes it away. What happens when the Wilpon's are set to lose millions? The MLB loans them money.
Now I understand why the MLB likes the Wilpons. They play ball, they follow the bonus guide in the draft, they support everything Bud Selig says and they even hire the general manager he picks, but something has got to give.
Why Am I Harping On This Now?
Photo Courtesy of: Joe Petruccio at MyMetsJournal
Jose Reyes has left the Mets to bring his services to South Beach. Unlike Lebron James, he didn't become Public Enemy #1 doing so (Thanks for no publicity stunt, Jose). He left the Mets because the Mets are no longer a team that is capable of putting out $100+ Mil in payroll. Forget home-town discounts. If the Mets were owned by people not in a financial crisis, they would keep one of their best and most loved (by the fans) players.
Look at the payrolls from 2011 of the other major market franchises:
- N.Y. Yankees $201,689,030
- Philadelphia $172,976,381
- Boston $161,407,476
- Los Angeles Angels $138,998,524
- Chicago White Sox $129,285,539
- Chicago Cubs $125,480,664
- San Francisco $118,216,333
- Los Angeles Dodgers $103,788,990
Now... the Mets HAD sat in that range back in 2011 but in 2012, the Met payroll will likely sit below $100,000,000. They won't sniff that $120 Mil figure (that was a $20 Mil cut from 2010) and they may belong to the bottom 16 teams in payroll when all is said and done.
Does Milwaukee suddenly have more revenue and a larger fan base then a New York team? Does SNY bleed money? Will the league do anything to end our suffering?
No... No... and No.
The bubble popped and the Met fan is left on the breadline of the sports world... again.
6 comments:
someone got a new photo shop software...
It's actually some of the OLDEST photoshop software. I think it's 2nd edition.
I still can't figure how they lose so much. SNY for one and from what I've heard, is very profitable. Doesn't that cash , in part, go to the Mets? Secondly, they did drew over 2 million people to Citi and with the prices they charge, you can probably average about 150 dollars spent per person, per game, when you figure ticket price, food, and merchandise. Of course, you subtract operating cost, but still you're starting with 300 million. Thirdly, the naming rights to the.ballpark pay them enough annually to cover Johan Santana's yearly salary. Now, going back to SNY, some might have read that the Angels are about to sign a new television deal with fox that will pay them in the neighborhood of 150 million annually. Now, the reason to have your own channel, a la SNY, is to maximize your television revenue. If the Angels will make that much in a market a tad smaller then NY, without their own channel mind you, then the Mets must certainly make at least 200 million a year profit from SNY. So, again, how the heck are the Mets loosing money? The Wilpons must be using the Mets assets to pay off all of their personal debt. Debt that must have nothing to do with the Mets! There just seems to be no way that this team, which was competitive last year until August, could be bleeding that much money. Unless the Wilpons went to the Mike Tyson school of money management.
@ Charles:
157% Correct!
You win the stuffed bunny, the cookie and all the pudding you can eat. The Wilpons should open their books to fans if they are really hard up for cash and the team is ACTUALLY losing money.
We all know the truth, the Wilpons are making money from the Mets and using it to fund their other financial failings.
What disgusts me is that the league does nothing to them. There is this "Good Ole Boy" mentality from Selig, that he'll protect you if you do everything he says.
you're close Charles... but no banana yet
If Mc Court couldn't use the Dodgers money to fund his wacky life, then mlb should step in and stop the Wilpons from destroying the team before its fan base moves into greener pastures. Mack; about the banana, the truth will set you free. I'm all ears.
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