Los Angeles Dodgers Sale: The Most Expensive Sports Franchise Sales Ever

By Peter Martin | March 28 2012 10:38 AM

Photo: Wikimedia

Los Angeles Dodgers – $2.15 billion

A group led by Magic Johnson has had their bid to purchase the team accepted by Major League Baseball. The deal includes aging Dodger Stadium as well. It is not official yet, however, as it needs to be approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing the proceedings for former owner Frank McCourt.

Photo: Wikimedia

Manchester United – $1.5 billion

American businessman Malcom Glazer bought the storied English soccer team for $1.5 billion in 2005. Glazer is the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company involved in many industries. Glazer is also the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers which he purchased for $192 million in 1995, which was a record at the time. Manchester United has been incredibly successful under Glazers ownership, winning the Premier League four out of six years (with two second place finishes). They have also won the Champions League once and finished runner-up twice.

Photo: Wikimedia

Chicago Cubs - $900 million

Thomas Ricketts, the CEO of Incapital LLC and investment bank as well as the director of TD Ameritrade, purchased the Chicago Cubs in 2007 out of the bankruptcy proceedings of the former owners the Tribune Company. The deal also included a 20 percent stake in SportsNet Chicago. It was the highest purchase price for a baseball team before the Dodger deal. The Cubs have floundered since the Ricketts purchase posting a .500 record and no playoff appearances over the three seasons of his ownership.

Photo: Wikimedia

Washington Redskins - $800 million

Daniel Snyder the owner of Snyder Communications, a marketing company, purchased the Redskins and Jack Kent Cooke Stadium for $800 million in 1999. From a business perspective his ownership has been a great success, and the Redskins are currently the highest grossing team in the NFL. On the field however, Washington has been disappointing with Snyder bearing the brunt of the criticism. They have posted a 91-117 record under his leadership; have had seven coaches in 13 seasons, and are just 2-3 in the playoffs.

Photo: Wikimedia

Houston Texans - $700 million

Robert McNair was the founder and owner of a cogeneration company called Cogen Technologies for nearly 40 years before he sold the business to Enron in 1999. He used the money from that sale to purchase the Houston Texans three years before they would even play their first game. He is the only owner the franchise has ever had. The Texans struggled through the first decade of their existence, but finally began to show promise in the 2011 season when they won the AFC South and qualified for their first playoff berth. The ride didn’t end there; they knocked off the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional round for their first playoff win.

Photo: Wikimedia

Texas Rangers - $593 million

A group led by MLB Hall-of-Famer Nolan Ryan and sports attorney Chuck Greenburg outbid Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for the Rangers in 2010. Greenburg was the team President with Ryan at the head of baseball operations initially, but Greenburg sold out in 2011 and Ryan assumed his duties as CEO. The Rangers have won back-to-back American League titles and look poised to be in the hunt again this season. Ryan has been immensely successful and popular with the fans since he took over.

A group led by Magic Johnson had a $2.15 billion dollar bid for the Los Angeles Dodgers accepted yesterday, the highest price ever paid for a sports franchise anywhere in the world.

The deal is worth $500 million more than anyone has ever spent on a franchise, and exceeds the baseball record by more than $1 billion. In fact, this is the second time anyone has ever spent more than a billion dollars on a team.

Here are the top 5 sales of pro sports franchises before the monster deal for the Dodgers yesterday.