Forbes had them valued at 180 million in 2016, which seems to have used a very rudimentary method for evaluation. That was enough to put them in the top 10. I suspect the value has grown at a rapid rate since then, despite the team's dire performances. But remember that revenue sharing and other mechanisms for MLS owners means Forbes probably has no real idea what the value of the teams is. The only way to know is what they actually sell for, and since the Quakes aren't selling, it doesn't really matter what they're worth.
From their net worth page, Fisher is wealthier than Nick Swinmurn. Forbes doesn't seem to know what they are talking about. MLS franchise fees are now up over $200 million and the stadium cost another $100 mil to build. I doubt that either the franchise fee or the stadium has depreciated since 2016 and if it did, Fisher will have wanted out but he doesn't. Mostly because he knows that the future of the league looks bright. The league is getting wealthier and stronger each year with Atlanta who came in strong and Cincy, Nashville , Miami and possibly Austin coming on board in the next two years. With owners owning or controlling their own stadiums, I think more billionaires want in rather than out.
So he both didn't understand single entity or that there would be a significant risk involved and a lot of money at stake to buy into a pro sports league? If that isn't the mark of a viable MLS team owner, then I don't know what is . Honestly, it sounds to me like the guy has more money than sense, which is par for the course around these parts, unfortunately. I'll continue to hope that the Quakes can figure out how to be competitive under Fisher, thank you very much.
Yeah having money doesn't mean they have much sense. I knew millionaires who were cheap for spending $100.00 but would blow $1 million on something dumb. It would be nice though if the Silicon Valley SF Bay area's High Tech big wigs like Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, Jeff Bezos , Eric Schmidt, Eric Schmidt , Azim Premji , Donald Bren , Jack Ma and Sergey Brin were soccer fans or if they would be interested in starting up a franchise. No one believed MLS would be where its at a decade so I could see how one of these guys could one day be lured into a investing in the sport. Globally, soccer is an international sport so it would only help and not hinder them.
From my observations over the last ten years, I would submit that Fisher is essentially counting on the “a rising tide lifts all boats” theory to increase the value of his investment as opposed to actively attempting to make THIS franchise bigger. In the absence of conflicting data (e.g. real money spent on real players), it does not appear to me that the underlying truth to Doyle’s statement that initiated this thread has changed at all.
I honestly do wonder whether or not Fisher is concerned with turning a profit from his sports ventures in the long run. He could have made quite a lot of money on the A's had he sold in the recent past, even with their current stadium situation. Building a stadium is sure to mean that he'd have to hold onto the team for some time longer in order to make money on it again. The Quakes would probably turn a profit now despite the money already put in, though probably not a significant one. But I have never gotten the impression that the overall goal was to simply turn a profit by sale. They have consistently attempted to get a stadium built for a long, long time, longer honestly, than is rational if the goal was to just make more money. It may be that Fisher isn't all that interested in running his teams actively, but I do get the sense that he enjoys owning them and holds onto them because he wants to. Maybe I'm wrong, but I imagine that Fisher won't be selling the Quakes until he goes in full on retirement like Wolff did, and that's quite a ways off.
I do not think he looks at it as anything other than a long-term investment. As long as it is appreciating in value, it is an asset, and as long as it is an asset, he will hold it. I do not base this on any particular knowledge of the man, simply as an observation of his actions.
I have to hope that Fisher has changed his views in the wake of the disasterous '18 season and subsequent loss of STHs. If not, we're well and truly screwed. Go Quakes!! - Mark
As I recall, Swinmun said that MLS financials were not straightforward, he didn’t understand how the broadcast revenue worked, i.e. a lot of SUM mumbo jumbo, and that’s why the revenue picture was so unclear. The more I think about it, it seems like owning a piece of a major league franchise is like buying a membership in an exclusive men’s club. You’re really paying for the potential networking with America’s richest people. And you get to be around the world’s best athletes. I also read that one minor league baseball owner bought a lower league soccer team because it was going to give him access to World Cup packages that one of his travel companies could resell. There are a lot of reasons to get into American soccer team ownership, and i’ll bet very few of the reasons are related to love of, or desiring to improve, the American game.
At least the social media person made a viral tweet on how bad we are, so that's something... "Let's take one final look at the 2018 season."Us: pic.twitter.com/73tBJGWCaI— San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) December 31, 2018
Odds to win 2019 MLS Cup from our friends @SuperBookUSA: pic.twitter.com/8ZXnIghAwI— Covers (@Covers) January 3, 2019 100 to 1... well below a crappy expansion team that looks a lot more like Minnesota than Atlanta. NYRB, LA Galaxy, NYCFC and DC seem too high, LAFC, Toronto, SKC and Seattle too low, imo.
I think everyone would rather be an expansion team with a clean slate than a bad team that already has mismatched pieces and financial overhang from previous years. The disadvantage would be having no academy pipeline... but only if the competing teams have made something of theirs.
Gamblers pay attention to things - like our management’s inability (over ten years) to develop and sustain any coherent system of play and our ownerships unwillingness (over ten years) to spend the kind of money required to be competitive in 2019’s MLS. “Small Team” indeed!
feet to the fire Don! we've been crap for a full decade now. none of this is about refs -- it's about a garbage ownership situation perpetrating annual fraud on the soccer loving folks of the Bay Area -- if you're in a position to speak truth to power, don't let us down and please don't drink the Kool-Aid!
The Atlanta game is about refs. I'm still waiting to see the conclusive video evidence that the VAR reversal was above-board.
let it go. there's not a grand ref/league conspiracy to keep the Quakes down, I can assure you. this is about the fraud being committed against the Bay Area soccer community by one John Fisher and I feel reasonably confident that you know this.
Fraud is most definitely not the right word. First, you are responsible for how much money you spend on the team, which could very easily be zero if you wanted it to be. Second, nobody in their right mind thinks a team is guaranteed to win, no matter what the investment level is in that team. Fraud would be more appropriate for someone like Precourt, who bought Columbus with the express interest of moving the team to Austin, but never telling the fans about it. Fisher owns the team and so long as he obeys the rules that all of the MLS owners have agreed upon and doesn't break the law, he can run it however he wants.
fraud /frôd/ noun noun: fraud; plural noun: frauds wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. "he was convicted of fraud" synonyms: fraudulence, cheating, swindling, embezzlement, deceit, deception, double-dealing, chicanery, sharp practice; More pharming "he was arrested for fraud" swindle, racket, deception, trick, cheat, hoax; informalscam, con, rip-off, sting, gyp, fiddle, bunco, hustle, grift "social insurance frauds" a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities. "mediums exposed as tricksters and frauds" synonyms: impostor, fake, sham, charlatan, quack, mountebank; More swindler, gonif, snake oil salesman, fraudster, racketeer, cheat, confidence trickster; informalphony, con man, con artist, scam artist "they exposed him as a fraud" I would argue that the deception derives from the giant lie that he intends to actually compete in this league, at a minimum tickets should come with a disclosure: odds of winning 100/1 at best.
he speaks through his surrogates and his actions. he is the captain of the ship and ultimately responsible for it's seaworthiness.