Rumors have swirled that James Dolan would be open to selling the New York Knicks for the right price — so who would be in the market to buy?
The rumors about the Knicks being up on the block for sale have dogged Dolan for many years. However, according to Newsweek, Dolan — who, in addition to owning the Knicks, is the chairman of Madison Square Garden who also owns the New York Rangers — recently put the WNBA franchise, NY Liberty, up for sale. This, then, led sports commentators to believe — correctly, as it turned out — that Dolan would be interested in putting the Knicks up for sale should a “legitimate offer” be presented.
“As a majority owner, I don't want to sell, either. As the head of the public company, you can't say you can't sell, because then you're telling your shareholders that your own personal feelings about your assets are more important than their money. And they won't invest with you if you do that.”
Statement from The Madison Square Garden Company to @ClutchPointsApp on report that New York #Knicks' owner James Dolan is listening to offers for sale of the team – “The story is 100% false. There has been nothing. No discussions. No plans to have discussions – nothing.”
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 18, 2019
It's worth noting everyone involved with the Knicks are rejecting this idea that James Dolan would sell the Knicks.
The announcement came, according to Forbes, shortly after it was revealed that MSG was considering spinning off both the Knicks and the Rangers into a tax-free distribution to its shareholders. The deal, which is still in discussion, would serve to benefit their shareholders and would also allow investors to retain a share in MSG. MSG is a multi-venue conglomerate that receives revenue from many different venues, including Madison Square Garden and its Hulu Theater, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre, the Forum in Inglewood, the Chicago Theatre and the Wang Theatre in Boston.
With shareholders being considered a viable “buyer” of sorts for the Knicks, shares of MSG predictably climbed through the roof.
“MSG stock ripped higher on its announcement. Shares, which have risen 30% over the past year, surged 10% in early trading to nearly $300 apiece. MSG has long been a value stock, owning a bit a conglomerate discount. Our figures show that the Knicks are worth an estimated $3.6 billion and we peg the Rangers valuation at $1.5 billion. Both teams have been the most valuable in their sport for three years running; despite their poor play, the Knicks are sixth-most-valuable franchise in world sport.”
Barring the investor/shareholder “purchase” option, however, there's the option of an outright buy. Everyone from the likes of the rapper/mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs to Oprah Winfrey has been floated as a potential buyer for the team, but Moguldom believes that the average celebrity — Oprah included — doesn't have enough liquid cash to make that a possibility, and to think otherwise is a fool's game.
However, they feel that there's an option for a Diddy — or an Oprah — to buy the team if they manage to negotiate the price.
“Diddy’s net worth in 2017 was $820 million, according to Forbes. That’s not enough to buy a team for $5 billion. Professional sports franchises live somewhat apart from other businesses in that they have historically enjoyed a constant upward value trajectory regardless of the underlying economics. Can that continue uninterrupted forever? Common sense says no.”
In other words, it would take a series of celebrities — no matter from what field — to buy the Knicks, so the rumors about Oprah, Diddy, or even The Rock individually buying the teams are unfounded. Simply put, it's not financially possible for a “face” to buy the team, though they could with the backing of a series of other monied people (much like Carmelo Anthony is merely a “face” of the Knicks owners).
Ultimately, the purchase of the Knicks will be a delicate one, and one that certainly won't happen overnight. It remains to be seen if Dolan does, in fact, sell his treasured team for any price.
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