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Fate of Chargers' ownership at stake as Dean Spanos' sister asks court to force sale


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28 minutes ago, BroncoSojia said:

Man that's terrible. Imagine being a fan of a franchise that has siblings fighting over its ownership. Couldn't be me.

I feel that. 

Saints fans got to watch Rita Benson-LaBlanc attempt to sue Gayle Benson for rights to the team that her grandpa allegedly promised her.

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Title is misleading:

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Spanos, Berberian, Alexandra Spanos Ruhl and Michael Spanos each owns 15% of the franchise, with 36% managed by the family trust and the remaining 4% owned by non-family members. Spanos and Berberian were left as co-trustees of the trust following the deaths of Alex and Faye Spanos in 2018.

Alex Spanos bought the San Diego Chargers in 1984, and his son Dean took over managing the franchise in 1994.

Dean Spanos, Michael Spanos and Spanos Ruhl issued a statement saying operations of the team will be unaffected by the court filing and that they intend to contest the motion.

"Our parents, Alex and Faye, wanted the Chargers to be part of the Spanos Family for generations to come. For the three of us the Chargers is one of our family's most important legacies, just as it was for our parents. Unfortunately, our sister Dea seems to have a different and misguided personal agenda," the statement said. "If Dea no longer wishes to be part of this family legacy, the three of us stand ready to purchase her share of the franchise, as our agreements give us the right to do."

 

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31179276/sister-los-angeles-chargers-controlling-owner-dean-spanos-petitions-court-put-portion-team-sale

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the three other Spanos siblings said in a statement. "In the meanwhile, the operations of the Chargers will be entirely unaffected by this matter, which relates only to the 36 percent share of the team that was owned by our parents. The three of us are entitled to three-fourths of that 36 percent share in any event, and under no circumstances will this situation impact control of the franchise."

 

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chargers-co-owner-asks-court-to-force-sale-of-team-due-to-mounting-debts-exceeding-350-million-per-report/

Edited by DigInBoys
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16 hours ago, pf9 said:

San Diego, because it is so close to LA, is still the territory of the Chargers, and now also the Rams. Both teams are on TV in San Diego frequently, because San Diego is a secondary market for both teams.

I'd say there were more raider fans in San Diego the two years I lived there but that was the year they lost the Super Bowl to Gruden's Tampa Bay team in San Diego. Loved living there but the last few times I visited it looked like it was heading downhill as Horton Plaza became an empty mall. Hopefully the Gaslamp comes out of this looking as great as it did in the early 2000's but could also become the seedy slums it was before that plaza was built too. 

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On 4/2/2021 at 3:57 PM, massraider said:

How is the estate 350 mill in debt?  Is that from the 650 mill relocation fee?

Just speculating but the family's money is almost entirely linked to real estate development (outside of the Chargers that is) and that hasn't been the most booming industry of late.  The relocation fee is likely a large contributor.  But the Spanii have never really been a cash-rich family outside of the span of like 5-6 years, in which their purchasing of the franchise from Baron Hilton took place.

But to be clear it's the estate of Alex Spanos that is in debt, not the individual Spanos siblings themselves - fairly laughable business sense that some of them have, taken into account.

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On 4/2/2021 at 3:57 PM, massraider said:

How is the estate 350 mill in debt?  Is that from the 650 mill relocation fee?

Considerable charitable pledges. At least from what I took from the article. They have splashed X amount fo money from the estate to maintain whatever AG felt needed to be maintained. The Estate has not been making money on the Chargers... probably due to low fan numbers, piss poor decisions making, a relocation fee,  an inability to sell out a soccer stadium and just general distaste for Dean. 
 

Rather then not make said contributions the estate borrowed heavily due to a lack of the Chargers franchise providing income. The estate is now in debt and reaching the sinking point and needs to sell assets to get back out of debt. Their main asset being the Chargers. Dean could purchase the 36% the estate holds if he had the cash and conceivably the other 3 siblings as well but he is an inept weasel. 
 

Likely Dean abused his position as Chairman of the foundation and has had the attitude that the Chargers don’t need to make money in order for him to make money and essentially screw the trust and his siblings. He pays himself a salary from the Chargers account, and his two sons also collect sizable salaries. Those salaries come before “profits” and thus the trust likely isn’t getting theres while Dean still pockets his cash and lines his sons pockets from NFL shared revenue. 
 

I wouldn’t trust the dude in any situation. 

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22 minutes ago, Leoric said:

Considerable charitable pledges. At least from what I took from the article. They have splashed X amount fo money from the estate to maintain whatever AG felt needed to be maintained. The Estate has not been making money on the Chargers... probably due to low fan numbers, piss poor decisions making, a relocation fee,  an inability to sell out a soccer stadium and just general distaste for Dean. 
 

Rather then not make said contributions the estate borrowed heavily due to a lack of the Chargers franchise providing income. The estate is now in debt and reaching the sinking point and needs to sell assets to get back out of debt. Their main asset being the Chargers. Dean could purchase the 36% the estate holds if he had the cash and conceivably the other 3 siblings as well but he is an inept weasel. 
 

Likely Dean abused his position as Chairman of the foundation and has had the attitude that the Chargers don’t need to make money in order for him to make money and essentially screw the trust and his siblings. He pays himself a salary from the Chargers account, and his two sons also collect sizable salaries. Those salaries come before “profits” and thus the trust likely isn’t getting theres while Dean still pockets his cash and lines his sons pockets from NFL shared revenue. 
 

I wouldn’t trust the dude in any situation. 

This is what Popper and Daniel Kaplan wrote on the matter.

https://theathletic.com/2493803/2021/04/02/no-the-spanos-family-wont-be-forced-to-sell-the-chargers-to-jeff-bezos/

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