BDW in his own words

[Goldfan]

“In June 2020, Bill DeWitt Jr. stated that Major League Baseball is not a very profitable industry for owners, claiming that increased operating costs like a larger front office staff and analytics departments consume revenue growth, making profits slim. This statement was made during MLB's lockout negotiations with the players' union. While the MLB has seen high revenue, DeWitt argued that this revenue is reinvested into operations, rather than lining the pockets of owners.
Quote: "The industry isn't very profitable, to be honest," DeWitt said in an interview on 590TheFan in St. Louis.
Context: He was speaking during the 2020 MLB lockout amid labor negotiations, and his comments were similar to those of other team owners.
Reasoning: DeWitt argued that rising costs, such as hiring more non-player staff (including front office and analytics personnel), offset revenue increases, making profitability low for owners. “

2 things
-The irony of all irony was that when BDW made this statement he and MO had been going CHEAP on organizational funding for years as we now know
-and Secondly, if BDW is in this for income and he acknowledges that this is a very poor income business then WHY doesn’t he take his LARGE (75mil>>>3bil) Cap Appreciation and sell the team???

[The Nard]

How much would he save if the "Analytics" group is decreased to 1 geek??

[JuanAgosto]

Hes always been in it for the $. He needed winning teams to draw fans after the early 90s debacle of Busch the 3rd. Those winning teams in the 2000s allowed Billy Boy to build BPV. And it all increased team value from $150 million to over $billion. Hes made his money and is now coasting.

[Midrange Jay]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

[hugeCardfan]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

Good figures. That doesn't disabuse DeWitt's claim that baseball may not be a real good source of income for owners. I suspect that was a matter of fact response rather than a complaint. He has partners who may depend on the income more than he does.

[Rojo Johnson]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

Yet, Cranny contends that a baseball franchise must perform exactly like a dividend stock that also has big equity returns annually. Interesting.

[hugeCardfan]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

Yet, Cranny contends that a baseball franchise must perform exactly like a dividend stock that also has big equity returns annually. Interesting.

What big equity return is an owner getting annually? What does capital appreciation have to do with operational income? Are you suggesting that an owner should sell down equity to fund increased payroll? What businessman finds that logical?

[woofy25]

Why are we rehashing comments from 5 years ago?

[riff raff]

Why are we rehashing comments from 5 years ago?

Gotta grind that axe

[Goldfan]

Why are we rehashing comments from 5 years ago?

Does it matter when he was quoted??
If your owner says that MLB is a poor income source and he’s constantly whining about payroll, revenue, stadium financing….
Perhaps your owner shouldn’t have his capital tied up in a business that isn’t returning his needs.
This is an Ego play among the multi billionaires unless it was a family business passed down through generations…..
They get into this game for competition and winning and perhaps Cap Appreciation….of which BDW has most likely realized his max lifetime return so, perhaps its time to pass this Pro Sports Civic entity to deeper pockets who want to compete and can afford it and who dont really required an annual income stream from it.

[Cranny]

Why are we rehashing comments from 5 years ago?

I guess because someone started this thread.

[hugeCardfan]

Why are we rehashing comments from 5 years ago?

Does it matter when he was quoted??
If your owner says that MLB is a poor income source and he’s constantly whining about payroll, revenue, stadium financing….
Perhaps your owner shouldn’t have his capital tied up in a business that isn’t returning his needs.
This is an Ego play among the multi billionaires unless it was a family business passed down through generations…..
They get into this game for competition and winning and perhaps Cap Appreciation….of which BDW has most likely realized his max lifetime return so, perhaps its time to pass this Pro Sports Civic entity to deeper pockets who want to compete and can afford it and who dont really required an annual income stream from it.

So things said 5 years ago constitute constantly whining? Sounds more like a CT psychosis. Hopefully Chaim and Co give BDW a reason to splurge somewhere down the road.

[ScotchMIrish]

“In June 2020, Bill DeWitt Jr. stated that Major League Baseball is not a very profitable industry for owners, claiming that increased operating costs like a larger front office staff and analytics departments consume revenue growth, making profits slim. This statement was made during MLB's lockout negotiations with the players' union. While the MLB has seen high revenue, DeWitt argued that this revenue is reinvested into operations, rather than lining the pockets of owners.
Quote: "The industry isn't very profitable, to be honest," DeWitt said in an interview on 590TheFan in St. Louis.
Context: He was speaking during the 2020 MLB lockout amid labor negotiations, and his comments were similar to those of other team owners.
Reasoning: DeWitt argued that rising costs, such as hiring more non-player staff (including front office and analytics personnel), offset revenue increases, making profitability low for owners. “

2 things
-The irony of all irony was that when BDW made this statement he and MO had been going CHEAP on organizational funding for years as we now know
-and Secondly, if BDW is in this for income and he acknowledges that this is a very poor income business then WHY doesn’t he take his LARGE (75mil>>>3bil) Cap Appreciation and sell the team???

He made his plenty money in a couple of business ventures and he and some Texas politicians got the voters to approve $200 million in sales tax to go to the Rangers. Forget that happening in St Louis unless they strike oil under ballpark village.

[Cranny]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

Good figures. That doesn't disabuse DeWitt's claim that baseball may not be a real good source of income for owners. I suspect that was a matter of fact response rather than a complaint. He has partners who may depend on the income more than he does.

It's an LLC. Profits and loses flow to the owners' personal tax returns every year.

[Goldfan]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

Good figures. That doesn't disabuse DeWitt's claim that baseball may not be a real good source of income for owners. I suspect that was a matter of fact response rather than a complaint. He has partners who may depend on the income more than he does.

It's an LLC. Profits and loses flow to the owners' personal tax returns every year.

Can you let us know how much has flowed to BDW the last decade?

[Cranny]

The Cardinals are valued at $2.5 billion.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/04/11/cn ... -2025.html

They were purchased, along with the 2 stadium garages, for $150 million.
https://thisdayinbaseball.com/1995-anh ... -st-louis/

That’s an over 1500% unrealized gain.

Good figures. That doesn't disabuse DeWitt's claim that baseball may not be a real good source of income for owners. I suspect that was a matter of fact response rather than a complaint. He has partners who may depend on the income more than he does.

It's an LLC. Profits and loses flow to the owners' personal tax returns every year.

Can you let us know how much has flowed to BDW the last decade?

Of course not. But what’s interesting is that the members have to pay taxes on their pro rata share of the profits. It’s a flow through. Often a company will distribute to each member enough to cover the tax due, even though they haven’t distributed the profits.