On Wednesday, out of the blue, Eagles owners Jeffrey and Christina Lurie announced that they’ll be divorcing after 20 years of marriage.
As Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out, the goal apparently is to prevent the kind of ugliness that resulted in the sale of the L.A. Dodgers.
Of course, former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt didn’t believe that the disintegration of his marriage would force him to dump the asset. “Speculation about a potential sale of the team is rubbish,” said McCourt’s lawyer, Marshall Grossman, in 2009. “Frank McCourt is the sole owner. He has absolutely no intention of selling this team now or ever.”
While the Luries are saying all the right things in the immediate aftermath of the announcement of their decision to part ways, anything other than joint ongoing ownership by a man and woman who used to be married could set the stage for a sale of all or part of the team -- unless one of them has the money to buy the other one out.
In the end, there aren’t many options. They can own the team together, one can buy out the other, or they can sell the team, split up the money, and move on.
Given that former Eagles president Joe Banner is looking for a team to buy, it would be ironic, to say the least, if the Eagles were to become the next team that goes up for sale. Though that outcome currently should be regarded as highly unlikely, nothing can be ruled out, given the circumstances.