Braves’ McGuirk disputes report of team’s potential sale
The Braves have been profitable for Liberty Media. But if they're for sale, CEO Terry McGuirk doesn't know about it.
(First posted: 1:28 p.m.)
(Last updated: 4:50 p.m.)
If Liberty Media is preparing to put the Braves up for sale, as a report suggests, the team’s highest ranking executive doesn’t know about it.
“I speak with Liberty people fairly frequently and there’s absolutely nothing new here,” Braves chairman and CEO Terry McGuirk said. “The whole article looks pretty amateurish to me. Liberty has no interest in selling right now. Life is good. The team is good. I’m the person in position to know these things and that’s the most informed comment you’re going to get.”
McGuirk is upset because at a time when he would prefer people focus on a potential World Series contender, one week before the season opens, Forbes Magazine is reporting Liberty Media may be preparing to sell the team. In its annual valuation of major league baseball franchises, Forbes ranked the Braves 13th out of 30 teams with a value of $482 million and included this comment: “It appears as though Liberty Media is preparing to unload the Braves. The tax advantages to Liberty’s purchase of the Braves from Time Warner [in] 2007 expire after five years and ownership has slashed player payroll from $102 million to $84 million since 2008 despite higher revenue.”
That’s actually somewhat misleading. Liberty already has secured the tax advantages of its complicated May of 2007 purchase from Time Warner. The only time stamp related to ownership was an agreement between Liberty and MLB that they remain as owner for at least 4½ years — effectively, after the 2011 season.
There’s also a belief that a quick attempt to sell by Liberty, after tax benefits had been secured, would trigger problems with the IRS. But it might be past that point.
A phone call to Liberty Media’s headquarters in Colorado brought the expected response.
“We don’t comment on speculation like this,” said Courtnee Ulrich, vice president of investor relations.
I considered asking her where Kenshin Kawakami would be playing next week, but I passed.
Liberty Media generally has not been popular with the fan base. The company represents faceless ownership that is based far from Atlanta. The fact that the company allows McGuirk to run the franchise doesn’t matter for the simple reason he’s not the owner.
There’s also the matter of payroll having been reduced the past few years. McGuirk has long vehemently disputed the reported numbers, saying Braves’ payroll “has gone up.” But every team computes salaries differently, and various databases all show Braves’ payroll has dropped. Most show that total payroll was at, or close to, $102.3 million in 2008, $96.7 million in 2009 and $84.4 million in 2010. The fact general manager Frank Wren has rebuilt the club back into a playoff team is commendable, given the backdrop.
Is private ownership always better than corporate ownership? Hardly. The Atlanta Spirit is the only proof you need of that. But at least when something goes wrong, people know who to scream at. You can’t scream at an annual stock report.
The potential sale of the franchise makes sense. As the Denver Business Journal wrote: “Liberty Media has not announced any plans to unload the Atlanta team. But John Malone, Liberty Media chairman and founder, is famous for making use of tax advantages, and he has said Liberty Media doesn’t consider the baseball team a strategic asset.”
See, that’s the problem: Most people don’t want their sports teams known as a “strategic asset” — or worse, a non-strategic asset.
Four months ago, the Wall Street Journal’s list of highest paid CEO’s was topped by Liberty’s Gregory B. Maffei. His compensation: $87.1 million. The Braves’ 2010 reported payroll: $84.4 million. But Maffei kept stockholders happy. Forbes reported the franchise’s 2011 value at $482 million (up from $446 million in 2009) and operating income at $22.2 million (up from $5 million in ‘09 and $2 million in ‘10).
In Colorado, ownership is achieving its financial objectives.
In Atlanta, McGuirk would prefer the focus be elsewhere.
“This is not a subject that’s even in my thinking right now,” he said of a potential sale. “We’re getting ready for the current season.”
He need not worry about distractions. If anything happens, it won’t be until after the World Series.
By Jeff Schultz
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195 comments Add your comment
Charlie Sheen
March 24th, 2011
8:17 pm
I think I should be the new owner of the Atlanta Braves!!!! What do you think Atlanta?? I mean I am all about WINNING, AM I NOT!!!??
NikkiFree
March 24th, 2011
8:24 pm
Oh, please!!!! The entire city of Atlanta knew the sale was coming as soon as this season was over. I just hope the new owner is someone as awesome as Arthur Blank has been when it comes to supporting his team.
Jeremy
March 24th, 2011
8:25 pm
Many people here seem to forget payroll has nothing to do with winning. I am a long time Braves fan. Should we Ask Tampa or Reds if they need a higher payroll. As fans we have to remember its a business the goal of many teams is not to win a world series but to make a profit for the team owners. I hate to say that also as I love baseball but it gotten to expense for everyone form fans to the owners.
FEAR
March 24th, 2011
8:55 pm
please sell it to arthur blank!!!!!!!!!
Jeff Schultz
March 24th, 2011
9:15 pm
LTBF — They own the Hawks and Thrashers.
Jeff Schultz
March 24th, 2011
9:18 pm
JSS — Hah, money aside, I’m confident in saying Blank has no interest in Braves right now.
Bring back Noc a Homa
March 24th, 2011
10:05 pm
And even with Liberty owning the Bravos, they are eons ahead of the Hawks and Thrashers. I’d love to see the Braves have new ownership, but not if incompetent, spoiled boobs such as ASG were it.
nelson
March 24th, 2011
11:05 pm
terry it is the first thing you have to give a kick ass, first as a complete incompetent, as we are going to say it so clearly he is taking care of his position and salary that pays well, so he does not cares for the brave. hopefully we can have an owner ready to spend to see the brave champions, the team we have today is not bad, but lacks the small outpost to say now if we can be world champions.
JSS
March 24th, 2011
11:24 pm
@ Jeff Schultz…
You don’t have to convince me… Tell your readers, they act like Blank is Carlos Slim deep pockets!
Quicherbichin
March 25th, 2011
12:02 am
Kenali.. Sometimes you have to give talent to get talent. The Braves did not undervalue or underdevelop Adam Wainwright. He was just one of the pieces needed to get J.D. Drew. You have brought to fruition the old saying ” Opinions are like. …….. , everyone has one. ” And it foes without saying that you are what everyone has one of…
TheAntiMe
March 25th, 2011
12:22 am
While Liberty Media is no Ted Turner, I very much prefer the faceless ownership of Liberty over the multi-headed monster that conducts it’s business under the name of the Atlanta Spirit Group.
u-bet
March 25th, 2011
12:47 am
Atlanta Spirits Group is one pit lower than Hell!
Mike McDonald
March 25th, 2011
12:56 am
John Malone is a businessman who takes no prisoners. He is an engineer from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School … if not in degree, in action and deed. He helped Ted Turner be all that he could be. Cable TV, as we know it, wouldn’t exist without Turner’s insightful boldness and Malone’s savvy and deep pockets.
Malone will sell the Braves as soon as his federal tax circumstances permit and his investment is optimized and when the price is right.
The time is about neigh and Liberty Media won’t be caught napping at first base or holding out for the last dollar.
Bernie Marcus is my bet for the new ownership of the Braves. I think that his pitch will blank Arthur’s.
WinterStar
March 25th, 2011
2:00 am
Tom Glavine would be an ideal owner.
Bobby's Cox
March 25th, 2011
3:56 am
Sell to Mark Cuban. That would be awesome.
Bobby's Cox
March 25th, 2011
3:58 am
Shultz,
Good article dude. Loved the one liners…
“I considered asking her where Kenshin Kawakami would be playing next week, but I passed.”
and
“See, that’s the problem: Most people don’t want their sports teams known as a “strategic asset” — or worse, a non-strategic asset.”
please
March 25th, 2011
4:01 am
please sell the braves liberty. i’m a huge braves fan. please sell.
Larry
March 25th, 2011
4:30 am
Sure, it is sentimental and nostalgic to have a “white knight,” sole proprietor owner sweep in, buy the Braves, and we have our Braves’ Arthur Blank. May happen, may not.
However, as some have alluded to, the Liberty ownership has had its advantages.
They are a profit driven machine. As an individual who has held the reins of a several large corporations, I can tell you this forces you to be excellent, resourceful, prudent and with great and careful wisdom make all key decisions. For example, Braves at 84 million are run infinitely better than the Mets at 133 million or the Cubs at 147 million in payroll, respectively. Sometimes boundaries and structure are a good thing by forcing greater discipline and strategic and calculated–versus impulsive–personnel decisions. The Braves have been pretty good in the regard with the exception of the KK acquisition and perhaps the Lowe contract. They cannot afford to do this too often and what is wrong with that?
True, we can’t do as the Yankees or Red Sox do. But this is not the Braves or Liberty’s fault, this is the fault of Major League Baseball who should implement the same salary cap and team revenue sharing system as found in the more much successful, well run machine called the NFL. In the NFL, team’s from western PA (Steelers) or Wisconsin (Packers) can compete for a championship; in MLB, they are almost rendered as hopeless by their fans…sad!
Just another perpective…
keef
March 25th, 2011
5:54 am
ahhh…remember the days when there were only 2 owners going after the cream of F.A’s? Ted Turner versus George Steinbrenner??? ahhh… one can only dream with a $150 million payroll (STILL $60 million LESS than Yankees…)
With our eye for talent ALONG with a payroll, new manager and Heyward, Hanson, Freeman..etc…well I can dream…of an actual billionaire personal owner…
Pinball34
March 25th, 2011
6:16 am
Attention all fans clamoring for Arthur Blank: He will not increase the payroll. The Falcons payroll this past season was 26th out of 32, while the Braves were 15th out of 30. Insiders know he’s cheap…
Jeff R
March 25th, 2011
6:58 am
How many fans are actually reading Schultz’s comments? Arthur Blank is very likely not going to bid for the Braves. Of course, anything is possible, but…
While I’m not keen on corporate ownership, I’ll say this for Liberty Media: it’s pretty much stayed away from the baseball operation. And…
Where’s it written that the next Braves’ owner will be better than Liberty Media? The next owner – individual or corporate – could well turn out to be terrible. I cited Peter Angelos (Orioles) earlier. Angelos and his family have ruined the Orioles.
So, let’s cross our fingers and hope that the Braves go to someone like Blank or a corporation that has enough sense to let the baseball pros run to the team.
papadawg
March 25th, 2011
7:22 am
All I can say is DAMMIT
GT
March 25th, 2011
7:30 am
I think McGuirk is the one common thread through all the winning years of the Braves. He may be the greatest sport’s executive in the history of Atlanta and I doubt moat people even know his name. In fact I will go as far as to say he may be what made Turner look so great. He was there from the very beginning. Malone bailed Turner out decades ago when he looked like he was a goner. He served on the board of directors of Turner, when McGuirk was chairman. He has been in McGuirk’s home many times as friends as well as business. Stop acting as if these people are from Mars, there is a rich history. Turner and the Braves would not have existed without Malone, check the facts.
bring back blauser
March 25th, 2011
7:59 am
Mark Cuban——–off load the Mavericks pick up the Hawks along with the Braves. I will buy season tickets to the Falcons for you so you can follow all the major sports here in Atlanta
In Fredi I Trust
March 25th, 2011
8:06 am
I will translate this story.
” The Atlanta Braves will be for sale immediately concluding this years World Series event. Please focus your attention on the season as we finally have a fully healthy and potentially potent offense that could contend for the MLB’s richest title, that of being World Champions. We (Liberty Media) have never known how to run a pro sports team, nor do we ever intend on doing that. The mere reality of this entire situation is that we saw an advantage of getting a great Tax Advantage and know nothing about running a MLB Baseball Team. We (Liberty Media) believe that concluding this baseball season, we should sell the Atlanta Braves and give you fans what you deserve, an owner that is willing to spend some money to get better players into an Atlanta Braves uniform. Furthermore, we have already began talking with some potential future owners of this ball club that I am sure will do a much better job in getting this team back to a World Series and winning it. Now we can’t at this time say any name *Cough* Ted Turner, *Sneeze* Arthur Blank* *Fart* Mark Cuban, excuse me. So please Atlanta Braves fans all over the Country, lets embark on this journey together and show everyone (Turner, Blank, Cuban) all around the World that that the Atlanta Braves are America’s Team. Thank you.
Signed,
Some dude living in Colorado that has no business other than getting extremely rich to own a baseball team.
Total Grace
March 25th, 2011
8:34 am
Tyler Perry would be the perfect owner, he’s local and he would put money into the team.
The Man
March 25th, 2011
9:05 am
They should sell the Braves .. they don’t care about having a championship here!! Corporate BS!!
fauxfrankwren
March 25th, 2011
9:11 am
“Tyler Perry would be the perfect owner, he’s local and he would put money into the team.”
And Fredi Gonzales in a wig and dress…pass.
Bob Decker
March 25th, 2011
9:35 am
I say get rid of the braves and use the stadium as a prison yard, and the first prisoner to go in it is Robert Hood the cop killer on the loose in Clarke County. I guarantee we could have the stadium filled up 24/7 withing 6 months.
Jeff Schultz
March 25th, 2011
9:44 am
JSS – Yeah but that’s what happens when there’s only one guy fans like and they otherwise don’t feel overwhelmed by the local ownership (as a general rule).
Jeff Schultz
March 25th, 2011
9:45 am
WinterStar — I could almost see Glavine as part of an ownership group. He’s a bright guy. (Warning: I’m not starting a rumor. I have no inside information. Just thinking out loud.)
Jeff Schultz
March 25th, 2011
9:46 am
Bobby’s Cox — Thanks.
QWDH
March 25th, 2011
10:05 am
Yeah, Terry, because Forbes is well know for being amateurish. Pfft.
Jeff R
March 25th, 2011
11:05 am
There was talk years back that McGuirk cold be part of a group to bid for the Braves. Of course, putting together a group is easier said than done – or it might be easily done on paper, but bank accounts and other assets have to be strong to make the group’s bid viable.
But a McGuirk-led group with strong assets vying for the Braves would be good. Likely work for Liberty Media and MLB.
Michael Jordan
March 25th, 2011
12:38 pm
Atlanta fans: I love baseball and I got the coins to buy the Braves. Might as well do something else cause this Charlotte basketball team sucks (at my age I could whip the entire starting five by myself).
Escaped from Email Purgatory
March 25th, 2011
1:21 pm
taudog,
It’s just the nature of the corporate beast, dude so lower your capitalist hackles.
The proletariat isn’t braying against your beloved CEO’s or the profit motive. So take your ‘tsk, tsk” attitude and amortize it, pal. Put your Blackberry back in your pocket and get back to your golf game or your nooner with the secretary.
If you’ve paid any attention to the product from the perspective of your box seat in the privileged character section all these years, you’ll note that the payroll has declined since Liberty acquired the team.
Nobody begrudges Liberty Media profit-taking and expense reduction. That’s what corporations have to do to keep you stockholders happy.
But that’s why they tend to make such crappy owners of our favorite sports teams. We’re just another wholly-owned subsidiary on their annual report. If increasing the payroll can’t translate into higher revenue, then why would they do it? It’s not a good business decision.
Local ownership brings the passion of the fan base – at least good local ownership does. They’ll go the extra mile and spend a few more bucks because they want the team to win it all too. We fans appreciate that.
Heck, Arthur Blank’s probably as rich as the douche who runs Liberty Media, but he lives here and he wants his team to win.
So it’s not about class envy then, is it Sparky? Unless it’s your class envy.
big o
March 25th, 2011
1:29 pm
Nice !!! ok as others have mentioned its time for Mr. Blank to step up or for Ted to come home. Maybe Hank Aaron could put an ownership group together. Nolan did in TX and Bobby V is trying in NY. We need Atlanta Money and Atlanta People. Hell Cox is printing money with ajc.com and autotrader Thats old Atl coin They should consider buying
Billy Bean
March 25th, 2011
1:47 pm
GO BRAVOS, 162-0
Rick W.
March 25th, 2011
4:48 pm
How about George W. Bush……..he did well with the Rangers and loves the game!
Park Lane – Sports Finance Bulletin » Braves’ McGuirk disputes report of team’s potential sale
March 25th, 2011
9:55 pm
[...] want their sports teams known as a “strategic asset” — or worse, a non-strategic asset. (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution [...]
Trey
March 27th, 2011
2:45 am
Thanks for the article, Jeff. At least we kind of know what is going on with the Braves.
Sonny Clusters, nice to see you posting still!
scottbravesfan
March 28th, 2011
6:55 pm
Why would Liberty sell? They make a ton of money off of the Braves. I would love if an owner would come buy the Braves and spend like the Yankees but it’s probably not going to happen. And you really don’t have to spend like the Yankees to win. The Braves franchise is set up to have a very nice run this decade.
scottbravesfan
March 28th, 2011
6:59 pm
Larry,
You do realize that the Brewers are major contenders this year for the World Series? You do realize that neither the Giants nor the Rangers had big payrolls last year and both went to the world series. The Yankees have an old, overpaid team, that is passed it’s prime. They aren’t winning anything anytime soon. Their farm system is trash as well.
Bill
March 29th, 2011
12:46 pm
McQuirk cut you down Jeff on Braves TV the other day..whats your reply?
This report was 3/24 why again today? any up date?
Keep up the info , thanks
Justafan
March 29th, 2011
12:47 pm
Have no respect for McQuirk …period.