Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez inherited the St. Louis Rams when the mother died in 2008. They also inherited Stan Kroenke as a co-owner who happens to own 40% of the team. Now, as they try to sell the team the confusing nature of the ownership group continues to drop the asking price for the team.
There does not seem to be a report whether the asking price is for the entire team, or just for the 60% controlled by the siblings. The original asking price was 950 million, which would be inline with the current value of the club, and the recent sales of the Pittsburgh Steelers (800 million) and the Miami Dolphins (1.1 billion including the team’s stadium).
With that being said 950 million for 60% of the team would be a ridiculous amount to pay. Further complicating matters is Kroenke has the right of first refusal when it comes to a new majority owner.
Since Kroenke owns the Denver Nuggets (NBA) and the Colorado Avalanche (NHL) NFL rules will not permit him to be the majority owner of a team in a different market. However potential buyers are leery of getting involved is such a complicated venture.
While the asking price started at 900 million, Goldman Sachs, who has been hired to find the team a buyer, quickly dropped the price to 850 million. After last October’s fiasco about Rush Limbaugh buying the team, the price has dropped to the mid to high 700 million mark.
Rams President, John Shaw, imposed an end of the year deadline to complete a sale, which many though meant by December 31st. It now appears that Shaw meant the end of the football season in February. However it seems that there are at least two options for the future of this team.
The siblings could keep their 60% of the team and work towards making it a more viable NFL property. Although they likely face a very steep Estate Tax following the death of their mother, or they can convince Kroenke to join them in selling the team outright. There is an end of the season meeting planned in the very near future where all the sides will sit down and decide the fate of the Rams.
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