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Atlanta Braves: Liberty Media preparing to sell the team?

By Tyler Wilson

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 07: Liberty Media's John Malone (L) and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson speak onstage during 'TV, or Not TV' at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 7, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 07: Liberty Media's John Malone (L) and Aspen Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson speak onstage during 'TV, or Not TV' at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 7, 2015 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair) /
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BATH, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 13: In this photo illustration, £1 coins are seen with the new £10 note alongside euro notes and US dollar bills on October 13, 2017 in Bath, England. Currency experts have warned that as the uncertainty surrounding Brexit continues, the value of the British pound, which has remained depressed against the US dollar and the euro since the UK voted to leave in the EU referendum, is likely to fluctuate. (Photo Illustration by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) /

The Terms of the Sale

Because it was so evident that Liberty Media was only using the Braves to save themselves from taxes, MLB drew up a few guidelines for Liberty Media to follow regarding ownership of the team. These provisions are necessary because when dots are connected, it’s evident that a long-term “pump-and-dump” scenario may have been Liberty’s goal all along.

These provisions included Terry McGuirk & co. continuing to run the team, ensuring competence in the front office. MLB’s lawyers also got Liberty Media to agree to keep payroll around recent levels (which wasn’t helpful for the team, considering Time Warner had already begun cutting payroll to put more money in their own pockets), thus avoiding a scenario much like we’re currently seeing with the Miami Marlins.

Side note: It’s interesting that MLB stepped in to mandate payroll, considering this interview with Rob Manfred on the Dan Le Batard Show, where, regarding the Marlins cutting payroll and gutting the team, Manfred says, “We do not approve any operating decisions by any ownership. … Clubs make those local decisions by themselves.”

Another article from Biz of Baseball from 2007 also  pulls a quote from then-MLB Commissioner Bud Selig out of an AJC article saying, “They [Liberty Media] have committed to 4 1/2 years ownership, minimum, which frankly is more than we get guaranteed from anybody else.”

Those 4 1/2 years of guaranteed ownership ran out at the end of 2011, and just two years later, following the conclusion of the 2013 season, the Atlanta Braves’ intentions of relocation were announced.

The relocation wouldn’t be as interesting if it weren’t for the 60-acre development surrounding the Braves’ new stadium, The Battery Atlanta (which, at the time, we all thought was to increase the Braves’ revenue, and thus payroll). Complete with a hotel, an apartment complex, Comcast corporate offices, and several restaurants and other businesses to attract consumers and fans alike, The Battery is the perfect real estate investment for a potential buyer, and there’s no doubt that Liberty Media also knew that.

Given, the nature of Liberty Media’s ownership, it’s way too obvious that they’ve been pumping money into the Atlanta Braves’ brand (albeit not into the MLB roster) to create the best possible product to sell.

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