• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Loria agrees to sell Miami Marlins to Sherman and Jeter group for $1.2B, sources say

GK86

Homeland Security Fail
Link.

Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has agreed to sell the franchise for $1.2 billion to a group led by New York businessman Bruce Sherman and former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, and Major League Baseball is expected to receive the written agreement on Friday, according to a New York based MLB source.

The Sherman/Jeter group has about 16 investors and they have raised the money to purchase the team after months of seeking investors to meet Loria’s asking price, the source said.

Among the other investors: former NBA star Michael Jordan, who’s a friend of Jeter.

A purchase agreement with the Sherman/Jeter group, which has been worked on for months, is expected to be completed on Friday and submitted to MLB offices in New York.

Jeter is believed to be contributing only $25 million of his own money but has a great relationship with Sherman, who will allow Jeter to essentially run the organization.

MLB officials are expected to discuss the sale, but not vote on it, in owners meetings in Chicago next week. Sherman and possibly Jeter are expected to meet with the ownership committee prior for a full vote of owners, which is the final required step for the sale’s completion.

The vote could be weeks away, with closing expected the first week of October.
 
I remember the Marlins having a great farm system that contributed to their successes in 1997 and 2003. Then ownership steps in and destroys the team. Then of course you have the stadium situation that bilked the hell out of Miami - although Miami has a long history of shady business dealings.

Hopefully this group runs the organization like an actual competitive franchise.
 

Angry Grimace

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Sounds like he's going to put like 2% of the money in but he'll get to run the team to start. Hopefully he doesn't take any team management tips from Jordan.

See that sounds like such a little amount of skin in the game I would be shocked if he legit gets full team control.
 

Parch

Member
Can Loria just go away now? Please? He's ripped off enough cities already. He got his big payday so just piss off forever.

Best of luck to the Jeter group. Hope he has some fun being owner.
 

Szu

Member
Jeter probably is like 10% of the group and just happens to be the most famous.

What?
mjl.gif
 
Honestly, I would love for that to happen. But I think the Marlins are staying put in South Florida.

Yeah, Marlins aren't going anywhere anytime soon with that stadium. I think it would also be unfair to blame fans for lack of support given how the team has historically been managed.
 

Quadratic

Member
Without thinking about realignment, where could the Marlins realistically be moved to?

Las Vegas?
Portland?
Phoenix?
Charlotte?
Indianapolis?
Off the top of my head I can't think of a good landing spot besides Las Vegas, + a new stadium that needs to be built there.
 
Without thinking about realignment, where could the Marlins realistically be moved to?

Las Vegas?
Portland?
Phoenix?
Charlotte?
Indianapolis?
Off the top of my head I can't think of a good landing spot besides Las Vegas, + a new stadium that needs to be built there.
Montreal
 

Quadratic

Member
I'm curious why people are saying Montreal.

Doesn't Jeter live in Florida? And the majority owner is super wealthy New Yorker who probably has a ton of property in Florida. If they actually turn around and run the franchise properly wouldn't the fans in Miami want the team to stay?

I see this as a fresh start for the team like how the Clippers turned around when Balmer bought the team from Sterling.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Without thinking about realignment, where could the Marlins realistically be moved to?

Las Vegas?
Portland?
Phoenix?
Charlotte?
Indianapolis?
Off the top of my head I can't think of a good landing spot besides Las Vegas, + a new stadium that needs to be built there.

None of those cities are remotely as big as Miami.

It's not like we are talking about moving a team from say Sactown. It's Miami. It's a massive market.
 

sangreal

Member
Anything to get Loria out of the sport

See that sounds like such a little amount of skin in the game I would be shocked if he legit gets full team control.

it worked for nolan ryan

well, worked might be a strong word since he couldn't afford it, lost most of his stake and ultimately left with a loss. but he did get to control the team for a few years
 
Without thinking about realignment, where could the Marlins realistically be moved to?

Las Vegas?
Portland?
Phoenix?
Charlotte?
Indianapolis?
Off the top of my head I can't think of a good landing spot besides Las Vegas, + a new stadium that needs to be built there.

Because what people want to do in the Las Vegas summer is sit out side watching baseball.

Miami is a fine market. It will be interesting to see what happens to stuff like fan interest and attendance now that the Loria stink is no longer there, but increasingly what is more important (and especially for baseball) is, what kind of TV market is it, and what kind of TV deal can they get. That's where these teams are getting their revenue nowadays.
 

jwhit28

Member
Having Jeter as an owner will only get the team so much more attention. Even with MJ running the Hornets, the team being playoff contenders recently, and Kemba making the all-star game you can still count the number of nationally televised Hornets games a season on 1 hand.
 
Miami is a fine city for a baseball team. They just need to put a competitive product on the field and have owners worth a damn. The people will come.
 

Kill3r7

Member
Excited to see what Jeter brings to the table as an owner.

Having Jeter as an owner will only get the team so much more attention. Even with MJ running the Hornets, the team being playoff contenders recently, and Kemba making the all-star game you can still count the number of nationally televised Hornets games a season on 1 hand.

I did not know that Chicagoans retired to NC because like health of NY and NJ retire to FL.
 

SS4Gogita

Henshin!
Miami is a fine city for a baseball team. They just need to put a competitive product on the field and have owners worth a damn. The people will come.

Yep. I'm super excited for this. The team has been close to .500 the last couple of seasons so I'm hoping this change can help them get over the hump and stay competitive every year.
 
Top Bottom