If I had an unlimited budget for 24 hours, I would pay off my student loans and then I would buy a professional sports team. Preferably a franchise that is highly profitable like the Dodgers or the Yankees—although, if I’m being entirely honest, I’d really just want to own the Detroit Tigers.
I never really know how to answer these hypothetical questions without some clarification. Wishing to own a professional sports team feels a bit like “wishing I had three more wishes.” But that’s exactly the reason I chose it for this scenario.
If you own a team in one of the four major North American professional sports leagues—NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL—you essentially own a license to print your own money. I know some owners, particularly in baseball, love to claim they are losing money. To me, that just means they’re not doing something right.
I say that like I would automatically know how to run a sports team, but with the massive amount of revenue coming in and a built-in fanbase, it shouldn’t be that hard to turn a profit. Teams can try all the gimmicks they want with “Bark in the Park” nights, Star Wars themes, and stadium giveaways, but at the end of the day, the greatest marketing ploy for a professional sports team is a winning product. If you field a winner, the fans will come in droves. (That is, unless you’re the Tampa Bay Rays).
The Skubal Policy & The Upfront Check
Because this is a 24-hour fantasy scenario with an unlimited blank check, my very first executive action as the new owner of the Tigers would be simple: I would walk up to Tarik Skubal and offer him as much money as he wants. I don’t know if I’d lock him into a rigid ten-year contract, but whatever high-average annual value he wanted for a shorter deal, it’s his. And instead of deferring a single dime of it decades into the future to protect my own margins, I’d hand him the entire sum right upfront.
From there, I’d pump another $100 million directly into immediate payroll. I’m not entirely sure if the league rules would let me completely buy out the existing contracts of other teams’ stars on day one, but I would immediately start poaching top-tier talent to build a powerhouse.
A Cold Reality Check
It’s a fun simulation to run for a day. But as I look at the reality of modern baseball, it’s wild to contrast a fan’s ultimate blank-check fantasy with what the real-world owners are currently doing. While a fantasy owner wants to spend everything to win, the actual gatekeepers of the game are currently preparing to lock the gates entirely.
Check back tomorrow for Part 2, where we dive into the impending MLB lockout and the cultural double standard facing modern players.
Rebuilding a life takes grit, consistency, and a lot of ‘Option C’ thinking. Whether I’m closing in on 1,000 consecutive days of blogging or reflecting on the decade of work that brought me here, the mission remains the same: No glitz. Just the work. New to the blog? Start your journey here to see the blueprint and the ‘Tricorder’ perspective behind the rebuild.
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- The 24-Hour Owner (Baseball on the Brink – Part 1)
- The Anatomy of the Pivot (and Planting the Flag)
- All good things really do come to an end
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The article “The 24-Hour Owner (Baseball on the Brink – Part 1)” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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