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Hey, any interest in emptying out your 401K, selling off grandma’s silver and using the proceeds to buy the Indianapolis Colts? Well, tough crap; they’re not for sale.
Actually, that might not be accurate. The fact is, the Indianapolis Colts could very well be for sale. I mean, everyone has a price, right? Bidding for the Colts begins at three times the estimated cost for the United States to buy Greenland.
The big news in the NFL for the last 24-hours is that Colts owner Jim Irsay recently turned down a $3.2 billion offer to buy the team. According to Forbes, that’s $545 million more than the team’s recently estimated worth of $2.65 billion and almost $1 billion more than what the Panthers were sold for last year at $2.3 billion.
$3.2 BILLION DOLLARS!
Those of us who are brown-bagging it at work every day are undoubtedly thinking the same thing: “Take the money, Jim! Are you insane or just plain stupid?” The answer is neither, according to journalist Brian Giuffra of thebiglead.com:
The NFL is about to embark on what is likely to be the most profitable ride any league has ever enjoyed. The rights for their TV deals are expiring in the coming year, meaning they’ll squeeze FOX, CBS, NBC, ESPN and all the tech bidders (Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, etc.) for every penny they can. And really, they can ask for whatever they want and get it. After all, they’re by far the most-watched TV programming in town.
With gambling becoming legalized in more and more states, the NFL is also actively looking into how it can get its piece of the pie. And be assured, that’s the only way the NFL will recognize gambling and allow it widespread broadcasting across broadcasts. And they’ll get it because, again, they’re the biggest show in town.
Simultaneously, the NFL is also expanding its overseas operations, looking to other countries as new revenue streams. They’re probably doing a bunch of other things that aren’t as obvious, so yeah, a lot of positive cash-flow streams are on the horizon. And that is the reason why NFL franchise values are increasing so rapidly and the reason Irsay was smart for holding onto the Colts.
Sounds like Irsay made a clear-headed and shrewd business decision from that perspective. Besides, what could he possibly do with all that money anyway? He already owns John Lennon’s piano.
Hammer and Nigel offered up their take on Irsay’s $3.2 billion rejection on their show Thursday. Click below to check it out.
