Los Angeles Dodgers file for bankruptcy protection

With all the money they make with their overpriced food, goods and tickets, it seems like they should have more than enough to live on, and for me, this is all about GREEDY baseball teams and players looking to unload their debts so they can keep their expensive homes and money.

Bankruptcy rules need to change. If you have more than 1 mil in an account or in property value, you should be forced to downsize, sell and pay off your debts. The taxpayers shouldn't be flipping the bill for these greedy deadbeats imo.

If McCord is filing for bankruptcy, he should have to sell the team. Why should he get to carry on as owner while his creditors get pennies on the dollar owed them. The biggest debt is to Ramirez. Ramirez voluntarily left the team and that should have terminated any money owed to him.

With all the money they make with their overpriced food, goods and tickets

You got that right Kreepy. I got talked into going to a Dodger game a few weeks ago. They wanted 45 bucks for a bobble head which most likely was made in China at a cost of 3 bucks.

I haven't gone to a Dodger game since O'Malley sold the team to Fox, then Fox sold the team to the Mc Courts.

Sports were always a business but they used to care about the fans. Now ??? I don't even watch the Dodgers on TV anymore, the owners made me sick. I read an article in the LA Times about the McCourts making 106 million dollars and not paying a cent in taxes on it.

But me, I've got to pay taxes on the 40 g I make a year.

Kick the bastar* out and take the team from him. After all the divorce bull crap and the parking lot fiascos where a fan gets beaten he has shown he is not fit to run the team !!!!!!

He was to cheap trying to pocket some loose change to have a full time security director, that is how little the fans matter to him.

But I have and will attend the Angel games. Artie Moreno has done a very good job of making Angel Stadium fan friendly.

I would cap the top salary at $1 million a year, and that would ONLY be for the top player. No wonder the Dodgers are bankrupt.

Radical_Centrist

Here's a thought...How about slash the obscene salaries that grown men are paid to play a child's game?

Agreed!

We always hearabout the obscene money made by the top players. I am curious to know the salaries of those players who don't make the headlines often and few people other than the die hard fans even know the names of.

I'm w/ Radical. Also the thing about the Air Force having to hold a bake sale. Professional sports going bankrupt is actually a trend I would welcome.

Centrist and Brad: This has NOTHING to do with the players' salaries. It has everything to do with McCourt using the equity of the team as his own personal ATM. He and his wife took out over $120 million on the team.

Plus, 90% of Major Leaguers make no more than $10 million, so it's not as if every single player is making an obscene amount of money. Most guys are just journeymen one injury away from their career ending. Consider that Clayton Kershaw, arguably the best young pitcher in all of baseball, is only making $500,000 this season.

MisterJoshua... So poor young Clayton, if he stays healthy and pitches "OK", will make about 32-36 starts. Let's say he does well & makes 35 starts for the sake of discussion. He will make $14,285 per start. If he pitches a complete game and the game finishes in 2 hours and 45 minutes, he will be on the mound 1 hour & 23 min's to earn a whopping $11,000 per hour. If he pitches 7 innings on average (a quality start), the price per hour escalates tremendously to $13,453 per hour.... If he develops a sore shoulder and misses a few starts, his 7 inning wage at 28 starts is $17,000 per game (ballpark). Get the point?

I do understand a pitcher is involved with spring training, daily workouts, promotions, etc... There is more involved than hours on the mound. But even POOR Clayton is doing quite well - wouldn't you agree? If he is doing so well when we break down the numbers, how overpaid is the guy under a $25,000,000 per year contract?

I am going to my first MLB game in 15 years later this summer - only because someone else is buying the ticket. I watch my games at home now. I can't afford to go to games any more. Find a way to get ticket prices, concession prices, parking prices, and souvenir prices down, and I will come back to the game!

Then go get your money back from the owners and promoters. That's who has all the money -- not the ball players themselves. If that's your issue, at least direct it to the right place.

I just heard on the news that he is filing the Chapter 11 in another state, one with less stringent laws regarding bankruptcies. That should not be allowed. He should have to file here.

Yea, those dang business owners. How dare they make money while A-Rod only takes in $154,000 PER GAME, PLUS BONUS INCENTIVES! Granted, he is one of the exceptions, but the AVERAGE MLB player makes over $3,000,000 this year. Thats a lot of money for anyone, let alone someone playing a game.

It is not just Baseball, it is Football, Basketball, ...

I like the entertainment aspect of it, but come on. Grown men playing a kids game being paid well over the value of the game.

I'd rather read a book.

little sure shot:

The Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court Monday,

The article above starts out saying it's Delaware (yeah, easy to overlook when we're looking at the damn bankruptcy, not the state!)

concerned one:

Thats a lot of money for anyone,

So where does the money come from, the profit? Who pays it? If nobody paid $100 for a seat in the game, if they watched it on big screen, or if they went to their local Little League where their children play instead, wouldn't that distribute the money more fairly? We can't give them those profits -- hand it over from our own wallets -- then criticize how they divvy it up. Don't like it -- don't pay them.

concernedone

Yea, those dang business owners. How dare they make money while A-Rod only takes in $154,000 PER GAME, PLUS BONUS INCENTIVES!

So, who pays A-Rod that money? Did he unilaterally draw up, and sign the contract, both in his and the owners designated spots?

The owners don't lose money. Whenever they sell the team it's for double what they bought it for.

If a player asks for top dollar, just say no. Use the money saved and use it on other areas of the team.

But wait, that would take ACTUAL business sense and a pair of balls!

Nope, better to sign Alex to a $252 mil deal, then piss and moan about it to everyone. "Who signed him to that record deal? Must've been the gremlins under my desk!"

Keav - It's that snowball affect. If Joe makes $1 batting .275 with 20 homers, then Matt batting .325 with 30 homers is worth 50% more in arbitration / negotiation. What if Tom hits .325, but hits 40 homers? Is he worth 25% more than Matt? The answer in today's world is YES, he is worth more. So you have Joe making $1 and Tom making $1.75. That kind of disparity isn't fair for Joe, so arbitration gives him a raise to $1.25. The same math applies to the other players, so now Tom will make $2.34 without improving his numbers. Every year the same thing happens. Look at a chart of player's salaries over the last 30 years. A chart doesn't lie. It states the truth without bias.

Don't you see a problem with this pattern? Do you now understand why the cost for me to attend a game, have a dog and a coke, and buy a dang pennant has increased 4 fold over a short time? You can't put this all on the greedy owners... Plenty of fingers pointing back to salary demands as a result of arbitration and strong-arm union tactics!

The Los Angeles Dodgers filed for bankruptcy protection in a Delaware court Monday,

story, my point is, you should have to file in the state where the business physically is. You should not be able to file out of state because their laws are more lax regarding a Chapter 11.

I understand the climbing salary demands of players. But don't think for one second that if they cut salaries of players that they are going to cut the price of a ticket, or a concession. Fans keep buying tickets and spending these ridiculous sums of money to go to a game. So what incentive do the owners have to cut prices?

Remember, wages are a function of the revenue sharing split between owners and the union. Everytime the league is up to renew their TV contract, the networks pay more. Why? Becasue viewership is up, as is ad revenue. Companies dont advertise with companies that are losers.

Fans need to grow up and stop following this "we are part of the team" crap. You are a consumer, and as such have to vote with your wallet. I love my Yankees, but I'm not paying $100 to watch a game, $20 for parking, $10 for a beer, and $8 for a hot dog, when I can watch the game on the TV I bought, broadcasted by the cable I pay for monthly, sit on he couch I bought, crack open a can of beer ($11.99 for a 12 pack), and eat 2 hot dogs for the price I pay for one at the ballpark.

...

my point is, you should have to file in the state where the business physically is.

I could be wrong but I think the reason a lot of major corporations file their corporate documents in Delaware is due to tax regulations linked to the way taxes from profits are calculated.

There was a 60 Min. expose recently all about this involving 60 Min exposing that all most ALL pharmaceutical companies file in DE for just this reason.

The New Tax Havens-60 Min

I just heard on the news that he is filing the Chapter 11 in another state, one with less stringent laws regarding bankruptcies. That should not be allowed. He should have to file here.

A few quick things about this comment (as well as a lot of other comments):

First, McCourt didn't file for bankruptcy. The Dodgers did.

Second, the Dodgers can file in Delaware because the Dodgers incorporated in Delaware under Delaware corporate law. The Dodgers couldn't file anywhere it wanted to.

Third, States don't have their own bankruptcy laws. The Bankruptcy Code, a federal law, governs bankruptcies. Different courts, however, have interpreted the same law differently. Delaware is generally viewed as a debtor-friendly court. It is also popular because its judges, unlike a lot of other bankruptcy judges in other places, have a lot of experience with corporate cases.

Now putting all of that aside, you have a good point in this case because the Dodgers business is entirely in California. The Dodgers filed across the country. I have to imagine that most of the Dodgers' creditors are around LA. It seems unfair to drag them across the country.

Your rule becomes more problematic when the business operates in multiple states. Where is the business located? Going with the place of incorporation, while not perfect, is at least predictable for creditors.

Radical_Centrist

Here's a thought...How about slash the obscene salaries that grown men are paid to play a child's game?

People in America have gotten things azz backwards imo. They will pay out 60 up to thousands of dollars to see a man hit a ball and run to score a point, but they don't want to spend that kind of money to watch their kids at their local schools and support their education.

I'm much rather be supporting grade, middle and high-schools than an over paid man on some stupid team that is based on greed.

The American people need to really get their priorities in order and start supporting their school teams and lets these greedy bastards go belly up.

Force them to sell their homes and assets to pay off their debts. If the rest of the American people are forced to downsize, then so should these arrogant, overpaid azzwipes, and no freakin bailout for these people.

I stopped going to games years ago because of the contantly rising prices. I'm within a few hours of 5 major league teams, but can't do anything about it. I will not pay those prices.

#FrankMcCourt

#10 Because there is so much public money around in California?

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_18358905?source=most_viewed

Makes sense, buy a franchise and close schools. Education is a scam after all. Not noble like sports. j/k

I'm pretty sure, if you look at the GB deal, it WASN'T public funds that bought the team it was individual private "investors". Primarily, as single individual private citizens.

My use above( #10 ) of the word "public" was meant in this context.

Best comment yet!!

Exactly. Besides, does anyone remember when big sports promoters got all the money, and big Hollywood producers got all the money -- and the little folks who did the work didn't get to share? That's what you are suggesting we return to.

The ballplayers, and the actors, etc. are NOT breaking their banks. That argument is intended to get the jealous ones (observers) to turn on the talent and force opinions to attack their little $10M salaries -- and to deflect what REAL money is being collected by the Steinbrenners of the world.

It's the way of the world now. There's a sense of entitlement to profit. They take the profit off the top, escalating it more each year. Then when the "crop" suffers a drought or a hurricane, an unexpected injury, that never comes out of profit -- it's redirected at whatever leads to bankruptcy. But like the casinos, the profit comes off the top before expenses.... and fingers point to the hired help getting too much money if that is challenged.

You are so right story.

The Pittsburgh Pirates take in so much revenue sharing, that they make a profit before they sell 1 ticket. Now rather than using the revenue from tickets and concessions to keep or bring in some good players, they've been in an almost 2 decade rebuilding mode. Every time someone gets good and nears free agency, they trade them away for even younger players. How are you ever supposed to get good if you trade away cornerstone players?

The owners see profit as a right, and not a residue of good management.