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The Tampa Bay Lightning are changing hands after their owner opted to offload them in a deal that values the franchise at close to $2 billion, and the team’s full-time employees are reaping the benefits thanks to the massive bonuses he’s planning to hand out.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have changed hands a number of times since they set up shop in Florida in the 1990s with the help of a Japanese investor with alleged ties to the yakuza, and in 2010, hedge fund manager Jeffrey Vinik purchased the franchise from Oren Koules and Len Barrie for $170 million.
That turned out to be a pretty good investment, as the Lightning transformed into perennial playoff contenders shortly after he acquired them and eventually won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021. Vinick has also played an instrumental role in real estate projects that have transformed the area surrounding Amalie Arena, as the waterfront venue is now surrounded by shops, restaurants, and high-rises he had a major hand in developing.
Vinick (who has an estimated net worth of $600 million and also holds an ownership stake in the Boston Red Sox) recently decided to cash in by selling just over 50% of his shares in the Lightning to an investment group led by Doug Ostrover and Marc Lipschultz that pegs the value of the team at $1.8 billion, and he’ll spend the next three years overseeing operations before the new guard officially takes control.
According to Sports Business Journal, that transaction is pretty good news for the hundreds of full-time employees who work for the Lightning, as Vinick has reportedly set aside a grand total of $20 million he plans to distribute among the folks who help the organization run.
Those workers recently received a memo thanking them for their “hard work and dedication” in which they were informed “all full-time staff will be receiving a bonus on behalf of the Vinik Family,” and the outlet says those payments range from $50,000 to $66,000 per employee, which is certainly nothing to scoff at.
Must be nice.