In a moment that could transform the franchise, Nationals owner Mark Lerner tells Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post that the team has hired New York investment bank Allen & Company to explore the possibility of selling the franchise or attracting new investors/ Add partner the current owner group. Lerner emphasized that the process is “exploratory,” adding that there is no “set timeline or expectation of a specific outcome.”
The Lerner family purchased the Nationals, formerly the Expos, from Major League Baseball for $450 million in 2006 after the former Montreal franchise was merged and relocated to Washington, DC. Forbes recently estimated the franchise to be worth $2 billion — a four percent increase from last year and the 12th-highest of any MLB franchise. Sportico valued the franchise at the same $2 billion estimate back in March 2021. Longtime controller Ted Lerner, now 96, ceded control of the franchise to his son Mark back in 2018. Back then as Svrluga points out that the younger Lerner was adamant that the family would never consider selling the team. Apparently that mentality has changed.
The Nationals’ open willingness to consider a sale of the club comes at a time when product on the field has been largely ripped off following last summer’s fire sale that saw it Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, DanielHudson, Yan Gomes, Josh Harrison, brad hand and Jon Lester all traded in for younger, more controllable players (and, in some cases, pay cuts). Of that bunch, Turner was the only one who had been controlled beyond the 2021 season. He now makes $21 million with the Dodgers. The rest of that group signed elsewhere in free agency (or, in Lester’s case, retired).
The Nats reinvested some of those resources into the 2022 team, but their total payroll is nearly $40 million below 2021 levels. Nelson Cruz joined the club on a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $15 million. Cesar Hernandez ($4 million), Anibal Sanchez ($2 million), Steve Cishek ($1.75 million), Ehir Adrianza ($1.5 million), Sean Doolittle ($1.5M) and Alcides Escobar ($1M) all signed during the offseason, as well as non-roster veterans Dee Strange Gordon and Maikel Franco, who both made the association. Neither of these players is committed beyond 2022, although Cruz’s contract includes a reciprocal option for the 2023 season. This is largely an accounting measure since mutual options are very rarely exercised by either party.
When looking at the possible sale of the franchise, there are several complicated factors to consider — even beyond the usual complexities involved in a multi-billion dollar team sale. First, the Nationals have been embroiled in ongoing legal battles with the Orioles over their television rights fees for nearly a decade. The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) broadcasts Nationals games but is owned and operated by the Angelos family, who also own the Baltimore Orioles. Hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue are at stake.
Of course, the long-term salary prospects of the team also affect the selling price. That’s one reason last summer’s sweeping sell-off was of some significance, but it also sheds a special light on the Nationals’ hitherto unsuccessful efforts to renew the Superstar Juan Sotowho reportedly turned down a 13-year, $350 million extension this winter.
Of more concern to potential buyers than money that should perhaps be earmarked for the expansion of a cornerstone franchise is the money owed to a multitude of players who no longer even play for the Nationals. The Lerner family used to include deferred money in deals for their free-agent signings to reduce today’s value. However, this overwhelming list of shifts is starting to pile up.
For example, the Nationals owe Max Scherzer $15 million in deferred pay each season from 2022 through 2028 — even though he’s now playing for division rivals the Mets. they pay Stephen Strasbourg a third $10 million installment of deferred salary from his earlier contract earlier this year, before even considering the salary he’ll earn under the new $245 million contract he’s following his World Series Feats signed. This new deal for Strasbourg sees him receiving three equal payments of $26,666,667 each July from 2027 to 2029 – the contract itself ending in 2026 – plus a final installment of $3,999,974 on June 31. December 2029 (hat tip to Cots contracts for the special). Characters).
These are far from the only delays to consider. Patrick CorbinThe $140 million contract includes $10 million in deferrals, which will be paid out from 2024 through 2026. The Nationals will pay Brad Hand a total of $6.5 million from 2022-2024 as part of the one-year, $10.5 million contract he signed for the 2021 pitch season. They’re still, unbelievably, on the hook at $2 million a year Raphael Soriano until 2025. Soriano retired after the 2015 season.
Despite the massive number of deferrals and messy television rights battle, the Nationals’ franchise value has undeniably skyrocketed since the time the Lerner family bought the team. And given the relative rarity with which major league franchises come up for sale, there should be considerable interest, whether from an entirely new group of owners or from some wealthy investors looking to get a foot in the door as minority shareholders Percentage increases over the years.