Are the New York Yankees for sale?

Posted Aug 4th 2007 9:40AM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Rumors, Business of Sports

Is the most-storied franchise in baseball history for sale? The New York Times Dealbook speculates that with YES, the Yankee's television network currently up for sale, that the team itself might not be too far behind. Much of the speculation is based on a recent article in Fortune magazine. There are rumors that owner/lunatic George Steinbrenner's health is deteriorating, and he has been less openly crazy than in the past. (Full disclosure: I am a die-hard Red Sox fan, and one of the highlights of my life was watching Jason Varitek stuff his mitt in A-Rod's face.)

According to Fortune:

The topic of a sale "comes up all the time" in conversations with the other partners, says Yanks minority owner Edward Rosenthal, a retired steel executive. Adds another Yankees limited partner: "If I were handicapping it, I think we're looking at a sale of the team within three or four years."

The Yankees are estimated to be worth around $1.5 billion, but with hedge fund/private equity managers lining up to cash out their stakes with IPOs, it seems like it could go for even more -- perhaps a lot more.

Assuming The Boss's health is OK, that still raises the question: How much longer before he gets sick of losing?

Tags: A-Rod, Dealbook, Edward Rosenthal, EdwardRosenthal, George Steinbrenner, GeorgeSteinbrenner, inthenews, Jason Varitek, JasonVaritek, New York, NewYork, NY Yankees, sports franchise, Steinbrenner, The Boss, TheBoss, Yankees, YES

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-04-2007 @ 4:19PM

Michael Schneider said...

That's a lot of hot dogs. The Yankees are by far the most valuable franchise in baseball. There is speculation that the Cubs could get $1 billion from their sale if there is an open bidding so no one can guess what the Yankees would be worth. The Cubs have several interested bidders with lots of cash so it will be interesting. I just posted an item from Chicago Tribune discussing the value of the Cubs (possibly $1 billion) along with the list from Forbes of the most valuable baseball teams at http://www.Barrelomedia.com. It's just amazing how much baseball teams have appreciated in value. Just about anyone who invested in just about any team has made a lot.

8-05-2007 @ 8:36PM

Yes Yankee A)L>com said...

Zac you sure fooled me. I thought Pedro (34 yrs old) shoving Don Zimmer (70 yrs old) showed the teams character. Another 84 years and they will win again.