Johnson & Johnson heir Robert Wood Johnson IV beat out
Cablevision Chair Charles Dolan yesterday for the "right" to
buy the Jets for $635M, the third-highest price ever paid
for a U.S. pro sports team, according to Richard Sandomir of
the N.Y. TIMES. Johnson's bid surpassed Dolan's $612M
offer, as the team "sold for more than $100 million above
what some sports finance analysts had expected." Sandomir:
"The price seems remarkable for a team with a downtrodden
history." Based on the Jets' recent financial figures and
the team's low-revenue lease at Giants Stadium, analysts put
the team's worth at around $250M. AZ real estate developer
Sam Grossman said he "dropped out" of the bidding at $510M
"because my brains overruled the seat of my pants."
Sandomir reports that in the bid process, Dolan complied
with the wishes of NFL execs and team owners by assuring
them that his media interests, such as MSG, "would not play
a role in the Jets and he would not vote on television-
related issues" if he owned the team. Giants co-Owner
Robert Tisch said, "Dolan signed everything we asked him to
sign, but we felt the membership still wouldn't go along.
They felt there may be problems down the road." Sandomir
notes that yesterday morning, Johnson increased his final
bid by $10M, while Dolan did not adjust his offer (N.Y.
TIMES, 1/12). Also in N.Y., Gary Myers reports that Dolan
was the "first choice" of the Hess estate executors after
they met Monday, but when the NFL's Finance Committee "made
it clear Dolan was not going to gain league approval because
of his other business interests," they chose Johnson. Myers
writes that executors "felt they owed it to Dolan to give
him first shot." However, nobody on the Finance Committee
"was interested in changing league rules to accommodate
Dolan." Tisch: "It wasn't anything against Dolan, it was
about a change of policy. The league would have had to
change some of our rules, and the committee decided not to
change rules" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/12). Eagles Owner Jeffrey
Lurie: "I think had it been (Dolan) he would have gained
approval in time as well, but he probably had a few more
questions to answer" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/12). One NFL
exec: "We've always been independent of media interests,
making the best decisions for the NFL. Do we want to go
down that road? Do you want to be the next horse in the
stable for one of those companies? Who's next, Rupert
Murdoch?" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 1/12).
WHAT'S NEXT FOR DOLAN: In N.Y., Bob Raissman cites
industry sources as saying that Browns Owner Al Lerner
opposed Dolan's bid because he "blames [Dolan] for hanging
around too long in the bidding for the Browns and driving up
the price." Next on Dolan's agenda will be to "likely look
to renew talks" with Mets co-Owner Fred Wilpon about
purchasing the team (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/12). But the N.Y.
POST's Richard Wilner wonders whether the Jets "loss" and
"stalled" Mets talks mean that the Dolan "sports empire has
reached its natural limit." The Bonham Group Chair Dean
Bonham: "I do think the NFL has some concerns about the
Dolan holdings and are wary of his media partners NBC and
Fox" (N.Y. POST, 1/12). One source close to Dolan said that
he was "frustrated as hell" by the Jets' sale process and
"contacted" several team owners in the last few weeks
"seeking their support" (CBS SportsLine, 1/11).