New NFL Policy Helps Ease Tax Burden Of Team Inheritance
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It Is Now Easier For Owners Like Jerry
Jones To Keep Franchises In The Family
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The NFL has "changed its ownership rules to make it easier for heirs to keep the team in the family after the owner's death," according to Curtis Eichelberger of BLOOMBERG NEWS, who noted the move means heirs will "have to pay less estate taxes when they inherit the franchise." The new policy allows general partners to hold a 20% ownership stake, down from 30%, while "still maintaining all the voting power." The controlling owner is allowed to create a holding company for his 30% stake and then give one-third of it to a "designated successor." The successor must "then inherit another one-third of the holding company, and have the right to purchase the remaining third at a preset price." To qualify, the general partner must have owned the team for at least ten years. Eagles Owner Jeffrey Lurie, a member of the NFL's finance committee, said, "This isn't a mechanism to make it easier to buy into the league. It's a family succession plan that makes it a little more flexible for families to maintain control" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 5/6).
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