Yesterday, I mentioned two sports franchises that will be changing hands soon. In addition, the owner of the “Oakland” A’s is looking for some liquidity to finalize the funding for his new stadium in Las Vegas and to achieve some liquidity, John Fisher is reported to be putting his MLS franchise – – the San José Earthquake – – on the market.
MLS franchises do not sell often but a potential evaluation might come from expansion fees paid by recent owners. Charlotte FC got its franchise for an expansion fee of $325M in 2019 and San Diego paid $500M to join MLS in 2023. If Fisher can get something near that price for his franchise, that could go a long way to reaching his desired level of liquidity. Fans in Oakland would certainly have preferred that Fisher sell the A’s to someone who would have kept the team in Oakland, but it appears as if that ship left port a while back.
The A’s clearly need to move to a new city and a new stadium. They are playing this year – – and for a while it would seem – – in a minor league stadium in Sacramento. For the 2025 season, the A’s have the lowest average home attendance at only 9774 fans per game. Even charging major league prices for seats and concessions, that attendance level does not fund a major league franchise well in 2025.
The Tampa Bay Rays – – one of the teams from yesterday that could change hands soon – – are also playing in a “minor league facility” this season because a hurricane destroyed their home field in St. Petersburg. The Rays attendance this year is only slightly better than the A’s attendance; the Rays are drawing 9828 fans per game.
Moving on … It must be because of the upcoming NBA Draft where Cooper Flagg is expected to go first overall that someone penned an article at CBSSports.com ranking the “top Duke freshmen of all time”. Here is the list:
- Cooper Flagg
- Zion Williamson
- Jahlil Okafor
- Marvin Bagley III
- RJ Barrett
Nothing I am about to say here intends to demean any of the players listed above; they all deserve mention in this context. I do think there are three names missing from the list arguing for expansion of the list; they are – in alphabetical order:
- Paolo Banchero
- Grant Hill
- Christian Laettner
Now, who have I left off the discussion board …?
Switching gears … Last week, there was an article in the Washington Post under this headline:
‘Kill yourself’: Toxic mix of betting, social media fuels athlete abuse
It appears that there is a growing trend of people who lose bets on sporting events to lash out at athletes who – – the bettors perceive – – caused them to lose their money. “Kill yourself” seems to be a common directive from frustrated “fans” but even that abuse of common courtesy pales in comparison to players having their lives and the lives of their families threatened.
The transition of sports betting from an underworld activity to mainstream status has expanded the number of people who bet on sports and with that expansion has come the added threats to athletes and their families when the athletes “fail to deliver expected results” to bettors who would politely be labeled as “sore losers”. The estimate cited in the Washington Post article is that Americans bet $147.91B on sports in the last year. That means there are a lot of losers out there with social media accounts and access to athletes’ social media pages for venting and threatening.
It is not difficult for a fan to look at this situation where he/she is living in a modest one-bedroom apartment and a pro athlete is making “eight figures per year guaranteed” and thinking the athlete owes it to the fan to perform at the top of the game every day or night. Such is not reality; those fans/bettors delude themselves into believing every day is a good day for someone making that much money plying his/her trade. That deluded state leads to exaggerated reactions to a failed bet and these sorts of threats to athletes.
Before anyone says it could be worse, I know. Monica Seles was indeed attacked in the middle of a tennis match by a crazed fan of one of her rivals. My point is not that the situation cannot get worse; my point is that the situation is “heating up” and there is a wide range of frustrated bettors out there who might creep over into the “active lunatic” category. We don’t want that.
Finally, this from comedian, Bill Maher:
“Things aren’t right. If a burglar breaks into your home and you shoot him, he can sue you. For what, restraint of trade?”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………