Eli Zaret: Jeff Bezos could be in talks to buy Detroit Lions
Please, please, please let this be true...
December 17th, 2019 at 9:23 AM ^
PLEASE BE FUCKING TRUE!!!!
December 17th, 2019 at 9:32 AM ^
If you think that the Ford family is cheap, you don't know much about Bezos, or about Amazon.
December 17th, 2019 at 9:35 AM ^
He's also a much better decision maker and strategic business thinker (minus cheating on his wife)
December 17th, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
Much like my CEO, Bezos probably made back all of the money he gave to his wife by the end of the month.
December 17th, 2019 at 10:26 AM ^
Brady Hoke was a much better recruiter and coach (minus the pregame, in-game, and post-game decision making)
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December 17th, 2019 at 1:01 PM ^
see that's the thing. He could have bought the Lions BEFORE he got divorced. Then he could have shown her some real misery by taking half of this franchise.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:44 PM ^
He can use his garbage newspaper Washington comPost to drum up some fluff for the Lions at least
December 17th, 2019 at 4:10 PM ^
Oh take your shit elsewhere. The Washington Post is one of the last bastions of actual journalism in this country.
December 17th, 2019 at 8:32 PM ^
What if he decides to move the team to another city?
December 17th, 2019 at 9:39 AM ^
Love him or hate him, there's no question that Bezos is all about ruthlessly succeeding. If I were a Lions fan (I am not) I'd be thrilled.
December 17th, 2019 at 10:38 AM ^
Remember the Pinto in the 70s? Probably not. How about the transmissions in the Fiesta/Focus this year?
They're all ruthless.
December 17th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
Don't forget the Firestone tire blowouts on Ford vehicles. Fitting, I'd say.
December 17th, 2019 at 4:28 PM ^
Exploding Pintos
December 17th, 2019 at 9:42 AM ^
The Ford family budget for the Lions is equivalent to a rounding error in Bezos’ monthly income
December 17th, 2019 at 9:49 AM ^
This is such a stupid take. They have never been cheap. They paid Barry, they Calvin, they paid Stafford. They just make bad decisions when it come to coaches, GM's, and the scouting obviously sucks. name a time they got had for not spending money? If your take is they are cheap, why in the hell would they sell? The NFL prints money. teams don't lose money.
December 17th, 2019 at 9:58 AM ^
You are partially correct. Now that there is basically a salary cap, the Lions spend as much as anyone else. And they did build Ford Field with their own money, IIRC. Back when Russ Thomas was running the team, they were cheap and mean-spirited losers. Now they are just losers.
They are just inept, disinterested, whatever. It says volumes that a 95 year old great-grandmother is the latest one to try and step up and right the ship. If the Fords truly love Detroit, the very best gift they could give to the fans who have supported the Lions for 8 decades is to sell the team. Give somebody else a try. Please. For the love of God.
December 17th, 2019 at 10:14 AM ^
People forget the old days when the Lions were cheap. There was a good reason Deion Sanders said the Lions would have to put him on layaway.
December 17th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
You do realize Barry signed for more than Deion, don't you? Barry - $9.5 million for 5 yrs, and reported to camp on time. Deion $4.4 million for 5 yrs and missed all of training camp.
December 17th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
Deion wanted no part of this nonsense. He made the right choice. The Lions are worse now than they were back then and there hasn't been anyone out there who made a comment even close to that. The closest was Nick Fairley looking like he just found out his dog died, when Goodell called his name.
December 17th, 2019 at 12:18 PM ^
Your argument is Nick Fairley? He was a POS. Deion didn't win shit in Atlanta. I'm just saying Deion saying they couldn't afford him was bullshit. The organization is terrible, but not because they don't spend money.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
What are you talking about? I didn't say they were bad because they don't spend. I said they used to have a track record BEFORE there was a cap. The Sanders draft was 30 years ago. Wake the fuck up and read.
December 17th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
Regarding being potentially drafted by the Lye-Downs: "The Lions? You've gotta be kidding - they'd have to pay me so much, they'd have to put me on lay-away." - PrimeTime
December 17th, 2019 at 10:45 AM ^
Barry Sanders said it in the book "Barry Sanders Now You See Him", he said:
The realization that management no longer cared about winning "slammed me harder than any linebacker had ever hit me in my entire career." Sander says. "That realization trivialized everything I did during the off-season to prepare myself. It trivialized everything I dreamed about from the time I was a kid in Wichita..."
This is the problem with the Lions, it's endemic to the culture the Ford family created around the club. It will never change until someone else who cares and is dedicated to winning owns the team.
Look at the Seahawks, Ken Behring created a similar culture in Seattle but once Paul Allen stepped in everything change. It was his dedication and commitment to winning that created a culture that eventually translated into a Super Bowl victory. This why I stopped being a Lions fan when I moved to Seattle and why I remain a Seahawks fan even though I no longer live there.
December 17th, 2019 at 10:57 AM ^
So you're a front runner. Got it...
December 17th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
So I'm a front runner because I became a Seahawks fan when I moved to Seattle in 1993 and lived there for 13 years?? That's what constitutes a front runner??
How about the Seahawks going 43-53 the first 6 season I lived in Seattle?? That's a front runner??
I think your Lions fandom has atrophied your mind. It happens, just ask Cleveland.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:46 PM ^
Uh-huh... How much of a fan were you in those first 6 years? Probably not much. Sort of like me claiming to be a Nats fan because I've lived here for almost 30 years, and they just won. Whatever.
December 19th, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever read. Your contention is that even though I lived in Seattle I should have remained a Lions fan and because I didn't I'm a front runner. Totally asinine. So what, NFL fandom is determined by your birth state??
You then proceed to follow up your delusional viewpoint with the assumption I probably wasn't much of a fan those first six years so I'm still a front runner. Yeah you got me, that explains why I have a Cortez Kennedy jersey in my closet next to my Russell Wilson Superbowl jersey.
I've been an NFL fan since I was 7 and followed the Miracle Season in Miami and started cheering on the Lions in 1973. As a long suffering Lions fan of 20 years, as soon as I moved to Seattle I was ready to jettison the Lions in favor of the Seahawks.
Look, I understand your jealousy but I have a legit reason to be a Seahawks fan, so get over it.
I hope you're not also going to tell the board that unless you graduated from UM you can't be a Michigan fan.
December 18th, 2019 at 10:41 PM ^
Lost in the argument about the Seahawks is the fact that they have appeared in more playoff games at Ford Field than the Lions ...
December 17th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
No. That’s not front running. When ownership stops caring, so do fans. It’s a natural reaction.
December 17th, 2019 at 11:51 AM ^
And look at the Chicago Blackhawks. They had a greedy owner who poorly ran the team. Worked hard to prevent the games from being televised locally when attendance was poor due to his team being among the worst. When he passed and his son took over, he changed the culture and won a Cup two seasons later and another two since.
Changing ownership doesn’t guarantee success, but a broken culture under an owner who doesn’t care guarantees failure. I’m excited to see what a new owner would do with the Lions, especially a guy like Bezos. I get the fears of relocation, but until I see evidence indicating that’s on his agenda, I’m unconcerned.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:48 PM ^
They didn't just build Ford Field with their "own money." They did have some help, but the Loins paid the majority (65%):
From Crain's Detroit Business re Ford Field:
Cost: $500 million
Team: Detroit Lions
Seats: 64,500
Opened: 2002
Owner: Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority
Naming rights: Ford Motor Co. paid the team $50 million in three lump sums in 2002 for 25-year rights. The automaker agreed in 2005 to pay another $6.6 million through 2015 to add its name to the stadium roof and elsewhere on the exterior.
How it was funded:
- DDA: $70 million
- City: $15 million
- Stadium authority: $20 million
- Wayne County: $20 million
- Corporate contributions: $50 million
- Lions: $325 million
How it operates:
- Revenue: Lions keep all
- Maintenance: Funded by a $300,000 annual contribution by the Lions
- Lease: 35 years. Six 10-year options
- Rent: $250,000 split between the DDA and Wayne County
December 17th, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
You weren't around for the Russ Thomas era. He retired around the time they drafted Barry Sanders. He was notorious for getting into contract squabbles with players.
This is god help me Bleacher Report, but I can't find a better discussion of the man's failing (here). With typical Bleacher Report quality control, it appears to be an entire article quoted from elsewhere (probably the Freep or the Detroit News around the time Millen was hired), but as far as I can tell it's accurate.
December 17th, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
They're notoriously cheap. That's why they tried to claw back money from Barry and Calvin. Most of their operating budget is fixed, due to the revenue sharing model, but you best believe if they can save a buck somewhere, they'll save $1.01.
December 17th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
This is true. What they did to Calvin Johnson is unconscionable. (Because he didn't play out his contract they made Calvin refund a percentage of his signing bonus--essentially legal but not widely practiced because it's just a dick move). The Lions are probably worth $1.5 billion and it is a license to print money even if the team sucks. Cheap ass f*$&!s.
December 17th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
BS, if you retire right in the middle of your contract you should pay back part of your bonus. This is normal business practice. Barry paid his back too. You don't hear him whining about it.
December 17th, 2019 at 12:34 PM ^
I BS your BS, this is football, these guys put their bodies and minds on the line every time they step on the field. If the face of the franchise retires he gets to keep the money and you get to raise his jersey to the rafters.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
I throw BS to your BS'ing of his BS.
Body and brains, franchise face, etc have no bearing. They were legally entitled to give that money back.
That said, in CJ's case the Lions should have graciously declined to request it be returned. Raise his jersey and celebrate everything he did for us and for football. In Barry's case, I'm in the camp that says he did a shitty thing and deserves the shit he's received because of it. I don't care that he left football - he had perfectly legit reasons to do so. But all he had to do was answer one phone call and say 'nope'. But he didn't do even that. He did nothing, until the day before camp. When he selfishly fucked the his teammates, bosses, and fans. He was so filled with spite that he couldn't make even one phone call. Fuck him for the way he left.
December 17th, 2019 at 2:01 PM ^
I BS your BS BS'ing, because there's nothing special about what football players do that lets them ignore contract terms. Lots of other professions put their bodies on the line too (utility lineman, say), for way less money, and they don't get to say "well I work hard so gimme the money that I'm not contractually entitled to."
December 17th, 2019 at 2:38 PM ^
If your take is they are cheap, why in the hell would they sell? The NFL prints money. teams don't lose money.
Seems like flawed logic. Say I own something that makes money every year, but someone offers to buy it from me for some very high multiple of that yearly income (ie higher than the net present value of expected stream of future income). Financially I should sell.
The Coca-Cola company has had something like 57 years a row in increasing dividends. Yet, people still sell their stock.
December 17th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
Is the Ford Family cheap though? It's not like the Lions aren't usually bumping up against the cap; or that their facilities are trash. They aren't. They just suck at picking talent.
December 17th, 2019 at 9:55 PM ^
Yeah, the idea that Jeff Bezos wouldn't strip-mine the Lions for parts and then try to sell them in a couple of years is some weird fantasy fans have.
Rich guys who make their billions off of squeezing human beings to their breaking point and cutting as many corners as possible for a buck aren't the type who should own sports teams.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:10 PM ^
1. This will never happen.
2. Hypothetically, Bezos were to buy the Lions, what's stopping him from moving the team to London, Mexico City, or Toronto. He has no ties here, no loyalty, and he everything he does is in pursuit of the almighty dollar... If he moves the franchise, the team's value increases 5x-6x times.
3. I understand people's deep, deep frustrations with the Fords and their inability to hire competent people, but as owners, they never meddle in the football side of things, have kept an open checkbook (even if they are ruthless recovering money from contracts), and generally, stay out of the headlines. That's not a "bad owner" no matter how awful the results are on the field. In fact, if they could ever make one smart GM hire they would almost be ideal owners.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
Bezos is a ruthless cunt, but he sure does seem to get a lot of my money. In fact, if he gave every person living in Flint $1 million each, he'd still be left with over $15 billion.
I'd like to see a billionaire do some shit like that. Lift a whole damn city out of poverty instead of pissing their money away on rockets and sports teams.
Also, if the Lion's moved I wouldn't even notice. Detroit would get a new franchise soon as it's still a top 15 market for media and population.
December 17th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
If the value of an NFL franchise would increase 5-6 times by moving it to Toronto, London or Mexico City, those cities would all have teams now. It may happen some day, but I doubt it will be anytime soon. The NFL wouldn't allow it until they are ready.
The Bills have already given up on playing some of their games in Toronto.
December 17th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
Toronto might support an NFL franchise of its own; hosting the occasional Bills game here is not the way to do it. Having said that, Toronto fans tend to be bandwagon-jumpers with all the local teams except the Leafs.
I'm not convinced NFL owners know shit about what a viable market is, though. How many teams are in LA now and how well does LA support them? And wasn't Oakland trying to get into LA at the same time the Chargers were before deciding on Las Vegas?
December 17th, 2019 at 2:43 PM ^
When the Rams moved back to LA, their value increased from under a billion in 2015 to up to almost 4 billion last season. The Chargers are now worth 2.5. Their new stadium hasn't even opened yet.
Only the Bills are a less valuable franchise than the Lions. Hosting a team like Toronto did with the Bills or London did with the Jaguars is not the same as a team taking up residence there. That'd be like judging the Metro Detroit soccer market based off of the ICC games at the Big House.
Los Angeles is home to 4.2 million people, equal to all of Metro Detroit. London's and Mexico City's populations are 9 million, not even counting the fans you'd get in rest of those countries.
The point is that you'd have to be a cold-hearted owner to move the Lions, but that's exactly who Jeff Bezos is, and if he thinks he can make the Lions from the 30th most valuable franchise to easily top 10 most valuable then he'd do it in a heartbeat.
December 17th, 2019 at 9:40 AM ^
The Californians - so uh cool
December 17th, 2019 at 9:30 AM ^
Cool!! Just wondering which town he'll move them to??