John Delach

I readily admit that I was totally out of touch when it came to the escalation in the values of professional sports teams. Granted, I have been a Football Giants fan since 1962 and I learned how the team originated when Tim Mara obtained the rights to the National Football League’s New York franchise in 1925 for $150. Mr. Mara said at the time, “Heck, a storefront with a chair inside is worth more than that in New York City.”

My awakening came in mid-August when the media reported that Bob Inger and Joshua Kushner led a consortium that purchased the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team for $12.5 billion! If that isn’t enough of a wakeup call, add that the purchase price eclipsed the $10 billion paid for the Lakers a year ago.

Right away, I asked myself, “If the Lakers are worth $12.5 billion, then what are the Giants and the other New York teams worth? And so, I Googled, “What is the current values of New York’s sports teams,” and here are the results in descending order:

Giants equal $10.1 to $12 billion

Knicks equal $9.75 to $ 11.75 billion

Yankees equal $9.4 to $ 10.15 billion

Jets equal $6.0 to $10.35 billion

Nets equal $5.6 to $5.7 billion

Mets equal $3.0 billion

Rangers equal $2.4 to $2.6 billion

Why so much, you ask? Tania Ganguli of The New York Times reported on August 17 that, “people in the sports industry said at least a few things had contributed to the rising prices.

“Sports is one of the last big draws to live television, and therefore the teams – are being paid far more for their rights to air games.

“The legalization of sports betting has also opened up new revenue streams for franchises.”

The last NFL team to change ownership was the Seattle Seahawks that sold for $9.6 billion last month. Curiously, another reason given to explain this explosion in valuation was the feeling that sports may be insulated from the effects of artificial intelligence.

Mark Cuban the former owner of the Houston Rockets of the NBA noted that, “ I do think that going forward, one individual writing a check for a team will be rare.”

For example, on Friday, August 14^th, “Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the richest men in the world, was part of a crowded investment group that joined forces to buy a third of the Liverpool Football Club.”

“Sport is the goose that laid the golden egg.’ said David Andrews, a professor at the University of Maryland who studies the sociology of sport. He has wondered if fans will become disillusioned as sports leagues and teams become too commercialized or financially driven.”

I wonder what the future holds for my Football Giants. Granted, my time with the team is slip, sliding away and my son, Michael and his two sons, Drew and Matt, represent me at most home games. Right now, Tim Mara’s grandson, John controls the Mara’s 50% share of the team and John’s younger brother, Chris is waiting in the wings for his turn.

Steve Tisch represents his family’s 50% share but management of the team belongs to John Mara by mutual consent.

I still write to John as I did to his father, Wellington. I just hope they retain their ownership for my foreseeable future  so I can continue to sign off with:

Go Giants!