Why a salary cap?
Man who wanted to buy WNBA Sun in on Vegas bid
Good morning, all! It’s Friday!!!
While an interesting MLB season is unfolding, labor strife looms ahead for the National Pastime, unless owners abandon their insistence that a salary cap be part of a new deal with the MLBPA. The players are opposed to a cap. It does not matter that the other major sports have caps. No salary cap is the union’s holy grail.
So why are the owners returning to their salary cap stance, the same position that led to the infamous work stoppage of 1994 and the cancelation of the postseason? The answer is a simple one: revenue.
For the last 50 years, salaries have grown not only because more rich owners have entered the game, but because most of them have had a guaranteed revenue stream, especially the big market clubs. Games were delivered via cable television. Owners could predict the amount of television revenue by looking at their channel’s subscriber base. In many cases teams had their payroll covered even before unlocking the stadium gates for the season. Soon those days will be gone.
People continue to cut the cord. More and more consumers stream their content. That is a difficult revenue stream to forecast. The owners are aware of that. Though the value of their franchises are skyrocketing, the everyday operation is not as predictable.
The union will not care. They do not want a salary cap. Period! End of discussion!
Will the owners be willing to open their books to show how dire the situation could become? Don’t count on it. So expect a long, drawn out fight.
Vegas expansion bid in full swing
Former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo is among a group that will submit a bid for an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas. They already have a name picked out; the Las Vegas Jacks. That would be the perfect compliment to the current WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.
Colangelo’s group is not the only one interested in bringing a franchise to Sin City, according to Front Office Sports. Marc Lasry, the former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, wants in on Vegas. Lasry, who grew up in West Hartford, CT, wanted to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun but was rejected by the league, which was intent on having the franchise sold to the owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets with relocation to that city. Only time will tell if the fix is in on who gets the Vegas franchise.
Is it fourth-and-goal?
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun claims the Chicago Bears potential move to Indiana is “in the red zone.” Braun told a group at Valparaiso University he has done enough real estate deals to know it’s not official, until “you ink it,” but he says Illinois has dragged its feet so long on a Bears stadium, while everything is in place for a $5B domed stadium right across the Illinois state line in northwest Indiana. Look for things to get interesting in the next few weeks.
More clickbait
So the latest sports website to generate clickbait is The Big Lead. It got me, that’s for sure. There was the headline: Brian Cashman’s comments about Yankees manager Aaron Boone creates more drama.
The drama? There was none. Cashman praised Boone on how he approaches the job, how he is prepared, works hard, etc.? What’s so dramatic about that? Well the writer of the story - who does not deserve to be mentioned - speculated Cashman’s comments are sure to anger many Yankees fans, who have grown weary of Boone’s leadership.
Everyone deserves to make a living I guess, but no need to click on the story. I did it for you.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you so much for being a subscriber and have a fabulous Friday!
DAN