08-15-2025, 07:15 PM
(08-15-2025, 02:22 PM)Au165 Wrote: The Rams ownership had to sell to Stan Kroenke after the passing of Georgia Frontiere because the tax burden was insurmountable for her heirs. The kids did everything they possibly could but there was literally no way they could keep the team. Funny enough, they only owned 60% of the team at the time and it was still insurmountable and Kroenke used his first right of refusal to acquire the rest. "Quietly transferring" sounds nice but the family would still be paying taxes on that transfer of ownership, there is no way those folks you mention he may be transferring it to could take on the tax burden of moving the majority of the team into their name.
If they have been leveraging a trust with a potential life insurance policy one has to wonder if that's where all that cash people keep screaming they need to be spending in FA is going. They aren't cheap and with a payout exposure of nearly 2 Billion in tax liability that you know is coming soon those premiums have to be huge. While I think there is a plan, I think people still continue to under estimate the impact because the valuations have skyrocketed so the plan 5 years ago versus now may have to make up nearly a doubling in value of the team.
Again, we have seen this take down family teams before. I think us just assuming everything will be fine is optimistic but not neccessarily a safe assumption, especially if the values keep skyrocketing.
I wouldn't use the Rams as an example.
The comparison for the Bengals' ownership is far closer to that of the Bears and Lions. Sometimes it is easy to forget that Mike Brown and his daughter Katie are actually very smart people. This team is structured so the next generation can continue ownership without a devastating impact from onerous estate taxes
"We have to play with a Santa Clara standard."
