Owning The Upside

Yesterday morning came word that Art Modell, the longtime owner of the Cleveland Browns and later the Baltimore Ravens, had passed away. As often happens when someone dies, the legacy Modell left behind is a complicated one. People are never all good or all bad, yet that is how we often try to categorize famous people and Modell is no different. First off, no one accumulates that level of wealth by being a kind and gentle soul so there are plenty of people who have unflattering stories to share. Secondly, there is the fact that Modell moved the Browns out of Cleveland and turned them into the Ravens, which forever tainted him in the eyes of most Clevelanders. (News of his death has appeared to have revitalize the Browns fans who had forgotten Modell was still alive and how much they hated him. Let's just say that since news of his death broke, there have been more than a few questionable additions to his Wikipedia page.) However, Modell was a pioneer in terms of creating the modern NFL, working to secure some of the league's early TV deals and was willing to draft black players, a practice not every team embraced at the time. He also was a pioneer in the front office, hiring the first black GM, but you rarely heard that side of him mentioned in the last few years. There is a good chance the NFL would look a lot different today if Art Modell had not been involved. Yet, one move forever turned an entire city against him to the point he never set foot in northern Ohio again.

I'm not going to judge Clevelanders for not letting go of their hatred towards Modell even though they got a new franchise within three years because I know how passionately I take my sports and if someone moved the Celtics I'm well aware that I would never forgive them. (Admittedly, one of the perks of being a Boston sports fan is the ability to sleep soundly, secure in the knowledge that no league would ever allow the Sox, Patriots, Celtics or Bruins to move. They would replace the owners instead.) Hell, this town is starting to turn on John Henry because the diehards don't think he is fully invested and all that guy did was win two World Series in four years after ending an 86-year drought. But the way Modell essentially lived in exile since moving the Browns (the urban legend is that he requested not to even be put on the ballot for the Hall of Fame because it is so close to Cleveland and didn't want to risk having to go back to be inducted) serves as a reminder that being the owner of a professional sports franchise may not be the dream everyone thinks it is going to be. Yesterday I reminded musicians that just because they wrote a song it doesn't mean the public won't have objections if you agree to let it be used in an ad campaign. The moral of today's post is that just because you put up some money for a franchise, that doesn't actually make it yours.

I fear most of these new tech billionaires who have been buying teams lately don't realize what they are getting themselves into. They may look at a pro sports team as just another investment to be maneuvered like any other stock, forgetting that sports franchises can't be run like any other business. Sports fans come with a level of intensity that I'm not sure these guys are ready for. I'm pretty sure if Art Modell had just moved his ad agency out of Cleveland no one would have been burning him in effigy. Let these new owners have a few down years and then try to travel through their city and see how much they enjoy their ownership experience then. I'm pretty sure running into some drunk, angry fans after three losing season will get more heated than any stock holders meeting after a couple of down quarters. I'm sure some of these guys buy these franchises for the sake of being able to say they can afford them. Well, if all you are trying to do is prove to the world that you have more money than you know what to do with, there are plenty of other things you could waste your money on which wouldn't come with the risk that an entire city might hate you within a couple of months. Maybe they should start smaller.

I used to think that the idea of being a minor celebrity owner of a sports team was stupid. Honestly, you spend millions of dollars and get less than one percent of a team? Outside of Jay-Z wielding considerable influence over the Brooklyn Nets (more likely a product of their absentee Russian owner), 1% doesn't get you much. All you get for that money is a really nice parking spot and courtside seats when the good teams roll into town, which you could probably buy for far less money. I always thought that if I was going to invest millions of dollars of my own money I would want a say in how things were going to be run. Either buy 51% of the franchise or put your money into something else. But now I am realizing that the so-called 'vanity ownership' may be the smart way to go. After all, good seats, free parking, a chance to mingle with players and a ring if your team wins a championship is all anyone really wants anyway. Meanwhile, no one is coming after you if the team has a bad year because you aren't the "real" owner. Seriously, do you think Jennifer Lopez hears any criticism regarding the Dolphin's draft strategy? You get all the perks with none of the downside and you certainly don't have to avoid entire cities for the rest of your life. Sometimes it is just better to let someone else deal with that hassle.