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Closing Bell

Rob Manfred: Marlins Sale Has Financing In Place To Go Through

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred today said the proposed $1.2B sale of the Marlins to a group led by Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter indeed has the necessary financing in place. Manfred’s comments, coming at the end of the quarterly owners meeting in Chicago, echoed those made yesterday by Marlins President David Samson. The commissioner added the bidding group might still seek out additional partners. Manfred declined to handicap the chances of the Marlins’ bid ultimately receiving the necessary 75% owner vote for passage. He said there are “other issues in the approval process that need to be completed,” including elements around club operations, debt service compliance and background checks of each of the individual partners.

If approved, Sherman would be the Marlins’ designated control exec, while Jeter would run the club’s day-to-day operations. Manfred did say he believes Miami remains a viable major league market, despite ongoing and significant fiscal losses and poor attendance. “We think Miami is a market where Major League Baseball can be successful,” he said. “We are 100% committed to that idea.”

Meanwhile, MLB is very likely to introduce meaningful shifts in '18 to pace-of-play rules. MLB and the MLBPA have been in ongoing negotiations around proposed ideas such as a pitch clock and limits on mound visits, and Manfred described the talks as “positive,” though he declined to go into further detail. “I remain confident that we will have changes for next year on the issue of pace of play that will be significant,” he said. Manfred does have the ability to make some shifts in area unilaterally after this season, but he again said he prefers to make a deal with the union if possible.

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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