Today, Jonah Keri of Grantland published a riveting 5000-word article on the Orioles, their reluctance to spend money during the offseason, and how it relates to their television deal with MASN and the Washington Nationals.
In the piece – aptly titled “For the Birds: What on Earth are the Orioles Doing?” – Keri goes into the history of the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network deal that Peter Angelos negotiated with MLB (the Nationals’ original owners upon their move from Montreal) and dives deeper into the financial situation than I’ve seen any other reporter go.
Keri strikes a wonderful balance in his reporting, giving evidence to support the cases of both angry, disenchanted Orioles fans who are fed up with the team’s reluctance to spend money, and of Angelos and his baseball folks, who may not know what the future holds in terms of expected revenue from MASN.
One of the most fascinating revelations of the story to me, however, was this little tidbit:
According to a source close to the Washington franchise, MLB has sent the team an undisclosed sum every year to help bridge the gap, and to prevent the Lerners from taking matters to court, until the deal becomes more balanced.
Wow.
We’ve known all along that Angelos (and the Orioles?) receives the lion’s share of the MASN money, with the Nationals progressively getting a larger piece of the pie as the years progress. But MLB paying the Lerners (Washington’s owners) to keep them from taking Pete back to court over MASN? That’s quite the new twist!
While answering questions on Twitter, Keri said that his source doesn’t know how much money the Nats are getting, just that they’re getting it.
@PowerBoater69 unknown / source just said they're getting some restitution
— Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri) February 6, 2014
As far as what could potentially happen to MASN in the future, that may be preventing the O’s from spending like they could/should, Keri offers the following:
A committee of representatives from the Rays, Mets, and Pirates is brainstorming ways to resolve the MASN dispute, and if MLB eventually forces the Orioles to pay out considerably more in rights fees without receiving any financial consideration in return, it would significantly affect the team’s finances. While Angelos and his representatives on Baltimore’s business side declined to comment for this story, that would be the most logical defense to offer critics who say the team is raking in MASN cash but refusing to increase payroll.
There’s plenty more great stuff in the article on Grantland. Go give it a read.
Maybe? I've never seen it tho. RT @DaProc @me Has the bit about MLB sending the Nats money to prevent them from suing been reported before?
— Jonah Keri (@jonahkeri) February 5, 2014
