Embattled Dodger’s Owner offered $1.2 Billion for Team

Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt has been offered $1.2 billion for full ownership of the team by Los Angleles Marathon Founder Bill Burke. This offer is just the latest in line of what has become a saga of Frank McCourt’s financial mishandling of the Dodgers as well as his nasty, multi-million dollar divorce, which has been going on for over a year. This proposal will offer McCourt, who filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on June 27, at least some time before Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig seizes the franchise and gives MLB full control over the club. Right now the club’s finances are controlled by an agent assigned by Selig to the team but without McCourt’s permission they can not move any players or sell the team.

According to multiple sources, if Major League Baseball were to seize the club, which they have been contemplating for a while, they would first allow McCourt to try to arrange a deal (like this one) before forcing sale of the team. Earlier this year the McCourts had reached a divorce settlement that was dependent on a twenty year $300 million television contract with Fox. Because the deal also would result in a personal loan to cover payroll and Selig believed McCourt was doing this to game the system in place (team money is not for the owner’s personal use), MLB rejected the deal.

If the sale of the club were to go through, the $1.2 billion would be the highest price ever paid for a Major League Baseball team. If McCourt were to accept the offer, it would first need to be approved by Selig and then pass a vote by the Major League Baseball Owners Association to be sure that the other owners think that Bill Burke would make a good owner. If the team were to be sold, many Dodgers’ fans and Los Angeles area baseball fans alike would be overjoyed because even though the divorce was settled in court, it has played a role on the field and in the team’s lack of success this season. A new owner would bring in a fresh face and a fresh start for a franchise in trouble.

-A