Comments on: Comments on 14133

Post number 14133

betaray — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 12:28:08 -0800

In 1976 four ABA teams joined the NBA. This left 2 teams to be compensated. One team accepted a $3 million buyout. The other team, as per an agreement made 6 months earlier and thought up by the owner of the team, got 1/7 of the other 4 teams television money forever. Has there ever been a better business deal/gamble?

By: vito90

vito90 — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 13:03:46 -0800

Thanks, betaray, very interesting, First I'd ever heard of it. Worthy of Charlie O. Finley. The only business deal I can think of that could rival it is the guy who invented the crescent wrench, which Sears tried to buy, but he wanted a share of the sales, which as you can guess made him a pretty penny. Of course there was Jeff Smulyan, who bought the Mariner's with borrowed funds (junk bonds) then sold the team years later for a profit, having gambled none of his own dough.

By: vito90

vito90 — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 13:05:05 -0800

Also of course the story of George Dubya making out pretty good on the Texas Rangers...

By: tsarfan

tsarfan — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 13:46:57 -0800

totally fascinating story. i agree, thanks for sharing that.

By: panopticon

panopticon — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 13:51:53 -0800

ummmmmm....

By: thekorruptor

thekorruptor — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 14:07:49 -0800

thank you very much!

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 14:35:22 -0800

Didn't Jack Nicholson get a cut from all the Batman sequels?

By: msacheson

msacheson — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 14:46:43 -0800

Betaray, that was a cool story. Shrewd move by that owner! I looked for a link to relate a story I had heard about Ray Kroc & McDonald's, but maybe what I heard is a myth, because I couldn't find anything to support it. Here's what I had heard: each and every McDonald's restaurant pays $1 per day to the Kroc family and heirs in perpetuity. Now, with 29,000 restaurants, that's $10,585,000 annually for that deal alone, not to mention any ownership/stock the family owns and other parts of the McDonald's business plan (owning the land for each restaurant and leasing it back to the franchisee, etc.).

By: msacheson

msacheson — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 15:07:14 -0800

panopticon...thanks for the enron link. I visited their site and checked out "Who We Are". Listen to this: It's difficult, too, to talk about Enron without using the word "innovative." Most of the things we do have never been done before. Sorry that's unrelated to this thread, but it wa too funny (to me) to pass up.

By: Eric Lloyd NYC

Eric Lloyd NYC — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 15:52:02 -0800

This deal probably netted a similar figure.... "Kerkorian agreed to the marriage, but only on the condition that she agree to a divorce a month later, with no right to alimony"

By: djacobs

djacobs — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 16:00:12 -0800

This is a wonderful story, one of my favorite posts ever.

By: gspira

gspira — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 19:15:23 -0800

This has been one of my favorite stories ever since I first read about it in Terry Pluto's wonderful oral history of the ABA, Loose Balls.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 20:13:12 -0800

I want those guys to write my next employment contract.

By: ParisParamus

ParisParamus — Thu, 24 Jan 2002 21:19:18 -0800

That was a very cool link. Thanks!

By: andryeevna

andryeevna — Fri, 25 Jan 2002 02:23:50 -0800

There is a guy who was supposed to direct ET. Turns out Stephen wanted to direct it. He signed off for 1 point. %1 of ET profits goes to him. When asked what he did for ET? He says "I didn't direct it." He is also in it, the surgeon in the end. Also Harrison Ford has a line in it, but is never seen. Usless ET trivia :)

By: whuppy

whuppy — Fri, 25 Jan 2002 06:55:21 -0800

One more on the ABA tip: HBO's Long Shots: The Life and Times of the American Basketball Association. Good fun, GREAT 'fros.