Independent Thinking » Sports

Why I’m Not an NFL Owner

Daria Steigman — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 07:02:58 +0000

You might have read that the Green Bay Packers are selling ownership shares. Which means that, for $250, you can own a share of the franchise. You can’t sell you share (or shares) and it won’t increase in value–but it makes you an owner of the NFL-Super-Bowl-winning franchise that was once coached by Vince Lombardi.

It would look really cool on my LinkedIn profile. But I’m not going to be an NFL owner.

$250 is real money. It maybe buys my next smartphone. It definitely buys lots of pints of beer at the ballpark this spring. But that’s not the problem.

The fine print is.

Ownership has its privileges. And its price.

Page 5 of the Common Stock Offering Document has a clause entitled NFL Rules that reads, in part:

The NFL Rules prohibit conduct by shareholders of NFL member clubs that is detrimental to the NFL, including, among other things… publicly criticizing any NFL member club or its management, employees, or coaches or any football official employed by the NFL.

Which means that, as an owner, I could be fined by the commissioner and/or required to sell my stock back to the organization–for $0.025 per share. (Come to think about it, that’s better than zero. But I digress.) Which means I couldn’t opine about whether Dan Snyder is the worst sports franchise owner since Marge Schott. And I couldn’t tweet that even a 2-year-old has more discipline than the Oakland Raiders. Not to mention that “what’s up with [insert name of player here]” would be off limits.

There’s a point here. And it’s not about American football.

It’s about reading the fine print.

Fining fan-owners of the only public NFL team would be a public relations nightmare. It’s not going to happen (unless someone really provokes it, or behaves in “conduct unbecoming” that defies public mores). But the business reality is that buying into this deal requires limits on your free speech. Not illegal limits–it’s not a 1st amendment issue. But limits nonetheless.

Business is about choices and trade-offs. Before you make your next deal, make sure you understand both.

Photo by Jeramey Jannene (Flickr).

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On Scholars, Athletes, and Leaders

Daria Steigman — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:04:18 +0000

“Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead.”

Patrick Witt played a football game on Saturday. By that ordinary action, the Yale quarterback seems to have demonstrated the character, commitment, and leadership that the Rhodes Trust has valued for over 100 years.

But Witt, a Rhodes Scholarship finalist, won’t be a Rhodes Scholar. Because the Rhodes Trust scheduled his interview to coincide with his game, he had to choose.

He chose his team.

After an enormous scandal brought on by a failure of leadership in college sports, it’s refreshing to see someone who understands what it means to be a leader.

What do you think? Should Witt have taken the interview? Does it make a difference knowing that Harvard crushed Yale?

Photo by Jayel Aheram (Flickr).

Out of Practice

Daria Steigman — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:04:29 +0000

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester suggested that his team’s historic late-season collapse had nothing to do with the fact that he and his teammates were drinking on the job. His rationale: they were doing the same thing in April and May–and the team was winning.

Sure. And if I substituted laziness for running laps, the fact that I’d be sucking air after a couple of months would be coincidental too.

You have to practice. And practice isn’t just for athletes.

If you get out of the practice of blogging, you stop looking for inspiration.
If you get out of the practice of networking, your pipeline dries up.
If you get out of the practice of business development, it’s harder to make that first call.
If you get out of the practice of budgeting, it’s easy to go into debt.
If you get out of the practice of planning, it’s easy to miss market signals.

If you get out of the practice of doing, what falls down in your business?

Photo by Newtown grafitti (Flickr).

Golf’s $1.4 Billion Missed Opportunity

Daria Steigman — Mon, 16 May 2011 10:06:01 +0000

When you think of the PGA Tour, what comes to mind? (Bear with me here–this post is not about sports.)

Here’s my short list:

Really ugly clothing
Country clubs
Boring men (see bullet 1) flying around in private planes

What’s on yours?

Here’s what should be top of mind: $1. 4 billion.*

The PGA Tour has raised over $1.4 billion for local charities. This is an amazing story. It’s a story about generosity, and excellence, and giving back to the communities where you live, work, and play (golf).

If I were advising the PGA Tour, I’d be storytelling in every town, city, and state where the tour has a presence. Instead, all we get are halfhearted TV ads branding “the next generation” of players. That and a Together, Anything’s Possible Web site that’s trying to to showcase the great charitable work that individual tour players are doing–but the look, feel, and writing are so bland that it looks to be composed of press releases (it’s not, but you have to be willing to click around to figure that out).

Savvy businesses align their brands inside and outside. The PGA Tour spent so much time promoting one free agent (Tiger Woods) that it’s way behind the curve in figuring out how to tell its own story.

What story is your business telling?

*2009 estimate.

Photo by Dirk Hansen (Flickr).

Opening Day 2011

Daria Steigman — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:05:01 +0000

It’s Opening Day!

Pardon the interruption as I take a much-needed day off to bow at the altar of the baseball gods.

Photo by Lauren Nelson (Flickr).

Opening Day 2010

Daria Steigman — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:10:30 +0000

Taking a day away from the office. It’s Opening Day 2010, and I’m off today to worship at the altar of baseball. Me, President Obama, and 44,000 other sports fans at Nationals Park. Have a good Monday, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Photo by sigckgc (Flickr).

Opening Day at Nationals Park

Daria Steigman — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 18:16:59 +0000

When you run a business, it’s hard to give yourself a day off. But every once in a while you just need to come up with a good reason. This was mine.

Brett vs. Manny

Daria Steigman — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 14:11:20 +0000

This post isn’t about sports stars and their egos. (Clearly both Brett Favre and Manny Ramirez have ego to share.) Actually, Favre gets credit from me for acknowledging that he didn’t handle things so well of late. Neither did his former team.

Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein details lessons learned from how the Boston Red Sox and Green Bay Packers organizations handled their recent star dilemmas. He points out, for example, that the Packers’ mistake:

wasn’t in rejecting the “win-now” mentality of the NFL…[but] in not welcoming Favre back enthusiastically while simultaneously upping the ante on the loyalty issue by asking the veteran to help with transition strategy.

Read Pearlstein’s full column here.