Tuesday's $2.15 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers was probably bigger news in the business community than in the sports world. And some of the business people happiest about it are owners of the NFL's 32 franchises.
"Oh, man, they've got to love that," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who ruled Los Angeles for nine years as USC's coach, told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. "That's a new day. That's a big marker. That's not just something-point-something. It's two billion."
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One day after Frank McCourt sold the venerable Major League Baseball franchise to a group that includes Lakers Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, there was open speculation that the heady price tag for a baseball team had just given a healthy jolt to the value of teams in America's most popular sport.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Forbes "probably undervalued" his team when it estimated the Cowboys' worth at $1.81 billion last year, at the time the highest for an American sports franchise.
"I don't know how to get my mind or arms around that (the $2.15 billion price) at all," Jones said, according to the Dallas Morning News. "It certainly wasn't something I might have had in mind when I got involved with the Cowboys and the team. It's impressive. It's very impressive. I think it raises all boats in sports."
"It kind of raises the bar for all of us," said New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch, according to the Chicago Tribune. "When a baseball club sells for over $2 billion when you fold in the real estate, it makes all of us stand up and say, 'Wow!' With our brands, with our teams, with our assets, we can't mess up. We're involved with something very special with tremendous value."
St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke was one of three finalists in the bidding for the Dodgers. Kroenke would have been subject to NFL cross-ownership rules had he won.
