Re: Realistic UFA PATS should consider
I read somewhere last year that the Kraft's had essentially paid off their debt from Gillette prior to the construction of Patriots Place.
Let's stop acting as if the billionaire who owns several large multi national companies and one of the most valuable franchises in sports history is penniless and destitute.
They can compete if they want to. They may not want to. I personally don't care one way or another, but the whole "but they have debt and blah blah blah" rap is as absurd as it is annoying and stupid. You make it sound like they're barely hanging on financially.
They're loaded. Period.
So, by arguing that someone isn't cheap, I'm now calling him "penniless and destitute"? Nice straw man. If you think that he's going to take his $1.4 billion franchise and run it at a loss just for the thrill of it, then you need a reality check. He won't, for the same reason that he's a good owner: because he's a good businessman.
Not sure where you heard that Gillette is paid off, but you might want to check your sources, because you're wrong. According to Forbes, the Pats' debt/value, which is a measure of stadium debt against total franchise value, is 21%. The Krafts have a $20 million annual bill for debt servicing, I believe. If you think that that's chump change, then good for you- you must be pretty loaded yourself.
By the way, Patriots had an EBITDA of $71 million in 2008. That's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, so the net profit is much lower. Considering that that number is almost certain to drop significantly in this economic climate, 1-2 of the huge contracts that people on this board are clamoring for, above and beyond the traditional payroll, could very well turn the team into a break-even entity at best. In case you need clarification, that's not a good thing, and it's no way to run a business. Especially with the likelihood that they're going to lose a ton of money if there's a lockout in 2011. The fact that fans still manage to have a problem with the guy who put up hundreds of millions to singlehandedly keep the Pats in New England will never stop bugging me. Anyone who thinks that Kraft is cheap is ignorant, plain and simple. Money doesn't grow on trees, for Kraft anymore than for the rest of us.
He didn't become a billionaire by bloating his costs and running at a loss, and he's not going to start now. If you have a problem with that, then by all means go and make $1.5 billion of your own and buy the Patriots from him, then feel free to run the franchise into the ground at your leisure. If you want to simplify it to "he's loaded, period" because you can't understand anything more complicated than that, then that's your business, but don't pretend that you know what you're talking about.
