Selig Nixes $200M Loan From FOX To Dodgers
By Matt Snyder
CBSsports.com
Frank McCourt was ready to accept a $200 million loan from FOX until baseball's commissioner stepped in. According to the Los Angeles Times , the Dodgers owner was going to use the team's cable TV rights as collateral and accept the money. The report stated if he wasn't able to repay, the Dodgers' deal with FOX would be extended by as many as four years. McCourt has money woes due to a massive debt -- upwards of $430 million, according to reports -- and also due to a messy and costly divorce from his former wife Jamie.
The divorce certainly clouds matters for McCourt, since Jamie contends she is still a half-owner of the Dodgers. Any deal made would be subject to division by the court, in her view. Frank, of course, believes he is the sole owner of the Dodgers and can make any deal he wishes.
But McCourt is going to have to find another way to get himself out of the hole, because Bud Selig reportedly blocked the loan.
Back in 2004, when McCourt bought the Dodgers from FOX, he was lent $145 million by the company. He used his Boston parking lots as collateral, but FOX has since foreclosed on the property and sold it.
Basically, the whole situation is a mess. It won't affect the Dodgers on the field per se, but payroll could become quite strapped in future seasons for a franchise that should be able to handle one of the league's biggest payrolls.
