Possible #AskMacri question: Are...we sure that we shouldn't include the Knicks as one of the secretly cash-strapped teams? James Dolan's wealth comes from A. a regional cable company (and regional newspaper), and B. a suite of entertainment properties. Fewer and fewer people are spending money on cable and newspaper subscriptions, and we're probably going to go at least a full year without live sports or music. Plus Dolan also owns an NHL team that also has significant salary expenditures.
The reasons not to doubt Dolan's wealth is that he's always been willing to spend, including since the pandemic started as he's hired several well-regarded (and presumably well-paid) coaches and front office personnel. But paying an assistant coach a 7-figure salary is very different from paying say Fred Van Vleet $70M over 3 years. Are we sure we shouldn't be looking at Dolan the same way we're looking at teams owned by mall and cruise ship magnates?
Apologies for the belated reply! But I think you raise a good point. I'll be addressing this a bit in tomorrow's newsletter, but in short, I'm not sure there's much Dolan is going to be able to do to change his financial picture this season, and he's going to need to take it on the chin either way. Plus, they're not anywhere near the tax, which is where I could see him really getting gun shy about spending.
Possible #AskMacri question: Are...we sure that we shouldn't include the Knicks as one of the secretly cash-strapped teams? James Dolan's wealth comes from A. a regional cable company (and regional newspaper), and B. a suite of entertainment properties. Fewer and fewer people are spending money on cable and newspaper subscriptions, and we're probably going to go at least a full year without live sports or music. Plus Dolan also owns an NHL team that also has significant salary expenditures.
The reasons not to doubt Dolan's wealth is that he's always been willing to spend, including since the pandemic started as he's hired several well-regarded (and presumably well-paid) coaches and front office personnel. But paying an assistant coach a 7-figure salary is very different from paying say Fred Van Vleet $70M over 3 years. Are we sure we shouldn't be looking at Dolan the same way we're looking at teams owned by mall and cruise ship magnates?
Apologies for the belated reply! But I think you raise a good point. I'll be addressing this a bit in tomorrow's newsletter, but in short, I'm not sure there's much Dolan is going to be able to do to change his financial picture this season, and he's going to need to take it on the chin either way. Plus, they're not anywhere near the tax, which is where I could see him really getting gun shy about spending.