Last week, news broke that one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was interested in purchasing a NFL franchise. Worth an estimated $110 billion dollars, could Bezos decide to attempt to purchase the New York Giants franchise, marking the first time that the team was not under the ownership of the Mara family? The reality is, he has enough money to make even the most reluctant of owners think seriously about selling.
In 1925, bookmaker and business tycoon Tim Mara founded the New York Football Giants for the sum of $500, making the team one of the original members of the newly founded National Football League. In 1929, in the midst of the Great Depression, Tim Mara passed the ownership over to his two sons, Wellington and Jack, as a means to protect the team during turbulent financial times. The two would run the team in tandem with their father, until Tim passed away in 1959 and Jack passed away in 1965.
In 1965, Jack’s son Tim took over his share of the ownership and he and Wellington would run the franchise until Tim sold his share of the team to Bob Tisch in 1990, due to the fact he was battling cancer. Wellington Mara and Bob Tisch would run the organization as 50/50 partners until 2005, when Wellington and Bob would pass away within two weeks of each other, turning control over to their sons John Mara and Steve Tisch, who have owned the team since.
There’s no denying that the New York Giants would be one of the last teams anyone would ever think could be on the market due to their deep family history of ownership, but when crazy numbers start getting thrown around, you just never know.
When looking to acquire a business, most investors seek out companies that are ran by third generation owners. This is due primarily to the fact that the initial owners have poured sweat equity into the business and are less likely to sell. The second generation owners have typically toiled away in the business along with their parents and have a vested interest in keeping the family name associated with the business. By the third generation, the importance of the family sacrifice and the novelty of keeping the family in the business has lessened exponentially, making the business potentially ripe for acquisition.
Coincidentally, the Giants franchise is in their third generation of ownership under the Mara family. Enter Jeff Bezos and his absurd amount of personal wealth and his penchant to own a NFL franchise. Individuals who are this successful in business typically do not like to settle for complacency, rather they strive to have the best and most successful businesses.
So while the rumors of Bezos centered primarily on him potentially purchasing the Seattle Seahawks due to their proximity to the Seattle based corporate headquarters of Amazon and the uncertainty of the future of their ownership following the death of former Microsoft co-founder and owner Paul Allen, the Denver Broncos who recently had their long time owner pass, and the idea that Bezos may partner with longtime friend Daniel Snyder to become part owner of the Washington Redskins, the idea that the Giants could be in play is somewhat plausible for a man with the wealth of Bezos.
To put into perspective the level of wealth that he possesses, Jeff Bezos could purchase every single NFL team, the New York Yankee, New York Mets, New York Rangers, New York Knicks, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Brooklyn Nets organization and still have roughly $10 billion leftover. Simply put, the man has enough money to make a ridiculous offer to any franchise owner that they would be hard pressed to pass up. The struggles of Big Blue over the past five years have taken a toll on John Mara, and if he received an offer that would exponentially grow his net worth, maybe that’s something he’d consider.
Which brings us to the prospect of Bezos purchasing the New York Giants from John Mara and Steve Tisch. Bezos purchased apartments for himself in New York City back in June of this year for a reported $80 million dollars. In addition, he has mentioned his desire to expand his presence in New York City, despite a failed attempt to set up a second Amazon headquarters in the city. In addition, he was rumored to be interested in purchasing the New York Knicks back in April. So the idea that he might be interested in purchasing a team in the largest market in the United States isn’t far fetched.
Given the long rich history of the Giants with the National Football League, the strong rabid fan base associated with it and the fact it is in the largest market, one would have to believe a man of the stature of Bezos would have to be inclined to desire for a team with the status that the Giants possess.
The Giants are estimated to be valued at $3.9 billion, coming in only behind the Dallas Cowboys at $5.5 billion and the New England Patriots at $4.1 billion as the most valuable teams in the NFL, so their appeal has to be strong for any potential buyer. Bezos could offer Mara and Tisch double what the franchise is valued at and still have over $102 billion left. For a man of his wealth, it’d likely be more about the novelty of owning an NFL franchise rather than the potential earnings.
What would it mean if Bezos were able to become the new owner of the New York Giants? First, the organization would essentially have unlimited amounts of money to spend on the facilities, television deals and marketing, allowing them to be a larger draw to free agents, coaches and executives.
More importantly, the franchise would have complete access to Amazon’s Next Gen Stats analytics programs, which utilize AWS machine learning and artificial intelligence to take a deep dive into the statistical analysis of players, by utilizing RFID tags in the equipment of players on the field to track thousands of data points from each player, including speed, movement patterns, and a plethora of other advanced statistics that couldn’t otherwise be measured.
More from GMEN HQ
- Workout clip of Evan Neal training with former All-Pro OT has Giants fans excited
- NFL Draft Schedule of Events: How to Navigate Draft Weekend
- 4 NY Giants who must step their game up in 2023
- This SEC CB at No. 25 overall for the Giants is gaining steam
- When is the NFL Draft?
Having full access to these statistics would allow the franchise to better analyze player fits for specific schemes, grade potential free agents and draft picks and assess proper contract rates for players base on statistical data (something that has been sorely lacking of late, to be kind). In essence, it would allow them to in theory have access to the data points that would allow them to build the most efficient and effective team based on advanced data. It would also allow the coaching staff to better utilize players in specific situations and schemes, providing better data for success rates on specific plays with certain players. The possibilities as to how the analytics could be used are endless.
It is likely that if Bezos purchases a franchise, like he is reportedly aiming to do, the rest of the league would have watered-down access to his Next Gen Stats, while his team has the full array of possibilities at their disposal. The advantage for a Bezos owned franchise, could prove to be significant.
Bezos has already gained the endorsements of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, as well as Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, in regards to his viability to be a NFL franchise owner. While the likelihood of Jeff Bezos purchasing the New York Giants remains a long shot – at best – the old adage that money talks applies here, as much as anywhere in history.
If money talks, Bezos has such an excess of it, that it is screaming, into a megaphone and John Mara and Steve Tisch should be listening attentively, along with every other owner in the National Football League. It will be interesting to see how this attempted venture plays out for Bezos, who literally has enough wealth to purchase whatever he wants and the analytical machine to completely transform a franchise and the game.