Monday’s lengthy press conference involving 49ers CEO Jed York eventually got around to the rumors that the team is for sale.
York said that the team definitely isn’t for sale.
“My family’s owned this team since before I was born and they’ll own this team after I’m gone,” York said.
Estate taxes and league rules may end up being a factor down the road, as the Titans currently are learning. Mushrooming franchise values are the biggest threat to long-term family ownership of an NFL, and there are persistent concerns that the league may have to revisit (again) its rules regarding ownership. Otherwise, there eventually may not be enough people with the resources to satisfy the minimum requirements.
For now, though, it appears that the team isn’t on the market. Unless York is simply trying to build leverage in the hopes that Larry Ellison will part with even more of his $47.7 billion to get the franchise.