MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with his daughter Lily after defeating the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
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Super Bowl Champion Eagles Take Home 130% Less than World Series Champs
The Eagles won SB LII and took home $191,000 in total post-season earnings, including $112,000 for winning the Vince Lombardi trophy; but, the NFL’s bonus compensation pales in comparison (-130%) to the amount World Series Champions earn on their road to glory. MLB’s collective bargaining agreement entitles WS winners to just shy of $439,000; while NBA and NHL champions earn $221,000 and $163,000, respectively. Of course, the losing side doesn’t go home empty-handed; Patriots players (includes those inactive) earned a collective $135,000 this post-season, including $56,000 for representing the AFC conference in Minneapolis. It must be noted that the $191,000 take-home (per Eagles player), does not include the value of the Super Bowl ring they will receive; estimated to be worth between $5,000-$37,000.
Howie Long-Short: Tom Brady makes $882,353 per game ($14 million salary, $1 million roster bonus, 17 games) during the regular season, but just $56,000 for playing in the league’s biggest game because of the way the CBA is structured. Player contracts (NFL players are guaranteed 47% of total revenue) are paid out by the teams, over the 17-week regular season. Postseason compensation though, is paid by the league from a much smaller pool; understandable, considering the league only has 11 playoff games. The result, teams that finish the regular season with the 2 best records in each conference are rewarded with a week of practice (bye week) without compensation; while superstars play on Wildcard Weekend or in the Divisional Round for less than the league’s minimum weekly regular season compensation. The players can certainly renegotiate post-season compensation following the ’21 season, but even with an expansion of the playoffs and an increased post-season pool; top players are going to make a small fraction of their regular-season game-day salaries. Besides, there will be more urgent matters for the players to address; namely independent arbitration (see: Ezekial Elliott) and injuries on TNF.
Fan Marino: Nick Foles was Super Bowl LII’s Most Valuable Player, throwing for 373 yards and 3 TDs in the 41-33 win. Foles also caught a TD pass, on an all-time great 4th and 1 play-call. Fellow Arizona Wildcat Rob Gronkowski caught 2 TDs in the loss. Minneapolis truly was Wildcat Country. Fun Fact: In 2012, Nick Foles became the first University of Arizona QB to start an NFL game in the modern era.
Former Marlins Owner Buys Team for $159 Million, Sells for $1.2 Billion, Claims $0 Net Profit
Former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria has claimed a $141 million loss on the $1.2 billion sale of the Miami baseball team, a claim that nullifies a profit-sharing agreement with Little Havana (Miami) and Miami-Dade County; the entities responsible for financing most of the development associated with the construction of Marlins Stadium. A 2009 financing agreement between the City, County & Loria required the wealthy art dealer to return 5% of the sales’ proceeds (less deductions) to the local governments, in the event he sold the team within 10 years. However, Loria’s accountants have provided documentation claiming $0 in net proceeds after deducting $280 million in debt, $297 million in income tax on the sale, $375 million in franchise value appreciation and $30 million in advisor fees. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez says the County will contest the accounting, as it considers legal action to recoup a portion of the proceeds. Gimenez estimates Loria placed “hundreds of millions in (to) his pocket.”
Howie Long-Short: Loria’s claim that he failed to profit on the sale of a franchise that sold for +/- $1 billion more than he bought it for ($159 million) is laughable, but South Florida politicians (see: former Mayor Carlos Alvarez, Gimenez gained popularity opposing the project) agreed to a terrible deal. Miami-Dade County agreed to pay $347 million, of the $515 million required, for the ballpark’s construction; while the City added $13 million in taxes, $10 million to destroy the Orange Bowl and another $94 million to construct a parking structure. The deal also allows for Loria to claim $50 million that had been previously set aside for the County and City (if Jeter’s group doesn’t claim it by October). Miami & Miami-Dade County have 30 days to protest the profit estimates.
Fan Marino: It doesn’t appear that Miami or Miami-Dade County are going to get any money back from Loria, but at least they’ll be getting an MLS franchise. The city was awarded MLS’ 25th franchise last week. The ownership group is being fronted by David Beckham, but backed by a group that includes Jorge Mas; the best choice for Marlins ownership. The team will play in a 25,000-seat privately-financed new stadium.
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Outdoor Gear & Equipment Sales Declining, Those Buying Are Doing It Online
Outdoor gear sales are declining, as millennials opt for less expensive, more versatile athletic wear over rugged clothing designed for extreme conditions. The trend remains the same with athletic equipment sales, where versatile products (i.e. mountain bike you can also ride on road) are outselling specialty equipment (i.e. road bikes). The NPD Group reported total outdoor industry sales declined 6% between December ’16 and November ‘17 (to $18.9 billion).
Howie Long-Short: Looking for a positive trend within the outdoor sector? Nearly 1/3 (29%) of all online apparel shoppers bought outdoor gear within the last 12 months, with the average customer spending $178 (+3% YOY). The North Face (VFC, 8% of all buyers), Patagonia (6%) and Columbia (COLM, 3%) are the most popular outdoor retailers within the e-commerce space. Canada Goose (GOOS) and Lands’ End (LE) have also found success online; GOOS consumers increased their spend per purchase 14% YOY, while LE buyers increased their average annual spend 10%. Here’s some more good news for outdoor enthusiasts, Camping World (CWH) is re-opening 69 Gander Outdoors stores. CWH acquired Gander Mountain Company & Overton’s in a May ’17 bankruptcy auction.
Fan Marino: One exception to the trend has been snow industry sales (skis, snowboards, boots, bindings), up 7.8% YOY (to $2 billion) over the first four months of the ski-season. Relatively surprising, considering the historically low snowfall totals across the western U.S.
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JohnWallStreet, located at the intersection of sports and finance, is a destination for the educated sports fan.
While we won’t be publishing “hot takes” on LeBron’s relative greatness to Jordan, we will be offering up the most relevant sports related business news, in easily digestible bites, with commentary from both the sports money and sports fanatic perspectives.
We’ll cover publicly traded professional teams & stadiums (MSG, RCI, BATRA, MANU), television networks (DIS, FOXA, CMCSA, CBS, TWX, MSGN), apparel & footwear companies (NKE, UAA, ADDYY, FL, LULU), equipment companies (GOLF, ELY, FIT), ticketing companies (EBAY, LYV) content and facilities providers (CHDN, DVD, ISCA,TRK, LMCA). If it trades on Wall Street, and has a sports angle, it’s in our wheel house.
Howie Long-Short and Fan Marino will be providing their expert opinions on each story. They have slightly different areas of expertise. Fan Marino is a firm believer that the SEC is the premier football conference. Howie Long-Short knows it as the Securities & Exchange Commission. Fan Marino lives and dies with the college selection of 5 star, blue chip recruits. Howie Long-Short spends his days analyzing blue chip stocks. Howie Long-Short knows that Black Monday occurred on October 19th, 1987. Fan Marino swears it happens every January after Week 17. You get the point.
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