The Walters Investigation

[Centerfield]

I don’t know what to make of it. I’ve read everything from it’s the end of the Dodgers and Ohtani will opt out, to it’s nothing and everything will stay the same. 
 

What do you guys think?

[smg58]

My impression is that Walter is in a fair amount of trouble, but it's too early to speculate on what it means for the Dodgers.  I don't get the sense that the team's finances are on anything less than a solid footing.  Ohtani actually has the ability to opt out if Walter is no longer affiliated with the Dodgers -- which is a really odd thing to put in a contract -- but I'm not sure what would stop the Dodgers from simply negotiating a new deal that pays him more money if it comes to that.

[Edgy MD]

The X Factor in all investigations of terrifically rich Americans is the president and his bad-faith pardon regime.

[seawolf17]

What? A billionaire is an abject shitbag? Didn't see that coming.

[Centerfield]

A good summary here.  

The Dodgers are Mark Walter's crown jewel. Can he hold on to it amid federal probe? - Los Angeles Times

The article concludes that we don't know what effect, if any, this will have on the Dodgers.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Walters already sold the Lakers, also owns Chelsea FC, Cadillac F1, the LA Sparks and the entire Pro Women's Hockey League. I agree his buddy Trump will get him off

[Centerfield]

I didn't really think Walters would ever face any real consequences.  I mean, the most that happens in shit like this is that the big wealthy guy ends up having to pay a hefty fine, but not hefty enough to offset the illicit gains, or deter anyone else from engaging in the illegal acts.

I guess I was wondering what this would mean for the Dodgers, the lockout, etc.  I figured that the Dodgers had a day of reckoning coming in the future anyway.  All the deferred contracts have to be paid eventually.  I just figured eventually the current owners would sell for a big profit to a new group, who comes in and assumes that debt.    

[smg58]

One thing that never seems to get addressed when the CBA expires is that the public has no real idea what the books look like for the individual teams.  Which teams are genuinely treading water, and which teams could spend a lot more than they are doing?  I've always worked under the assumption that the Dodgers were spending sustainably, but do we really know that?

[Gwreck]

3 hours ago, Centerfield said:

I figured that the Dodgers had a day of reckoning coming in the future anyway.  All the deferred contracts have to be paid eventually.  I just figured eventually the current owners would sell for a big profit to a new group, who comes in and assumes that debt.    

You think they’re not saving/investing money to pay the deferral obligations?   (And not in a Ponzi scheme?)

They are making plenty of cash, well above and beyond expenses.  I seriously doubt a “day of reckoning” is coming re: those obligations.

[Edgy MD]

Well, it may feel like a day of reckoning when payroll is issuing large checks to players who are no longer assets or perhaps even active.

But I imagine 14 division titles in 15 years, along with three championships (and likely more to come) has allowed them to rake in some crazy money, a large chunk of which they have squirreled away — or more likely put into semiconductor and AI portfolios, that will have ballooned into massive accounts that will dwarf their deferred payroll obligations by the time they are forced to cough the remainder of those salaries up.

[Frayed Knot]

What this has cost Walter so far is his stake in the Lakers. Purchased just 14 months ago from the children of Jerry Buss, he reached an agreement to sell it just last week (at a profit btw). Speculation is that he wanted to get more liquid with the idea that he'd need to be so in order to fight whatever legal battles are coming up. The sale and the speed at which it happened caught many off guard as transactions like these rarely stay quiet as they're happening but this one pretty much did until suddenly it was a fact.  

There's been nothing to suggest thus far that he'd do the same with the Dodgers. But it may come to a point where he has to designate a point person to run the team (a la Steinbrenner years ago) while whatever needs to get settled gets settled.