WEBVTT - What do we know about the Mark Walter investigation and how might it impact the Dodgers moving forward?

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, let's get into what's happening with the Dodgers and

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<v Speaker 1>their ownership group right now. Melody Gutierrez joining us on FT.

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<v Speaker 1>She's an investigative sports reporter for The Athletic Melody, thank

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<v Speaker 1>you for joining us, and we need help. We want

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<v Speaker 1>to know more about what's going on here. I know

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<v Speaker 1>you're doing a lot of investigating reportive investigative reporting on this,

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<v Speaker 1>So what can you tell us about the situation Mark

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<v Speaker 1>Walter is in right now?

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<v Speaker 2>We know he sold the Lakers. What have you learned

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<v Speaker 2>so far?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, so this gets into insurance spreadsheets, which is not

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<v Speaker 3>really where we spend our time, you know, in the

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<v Speaker 3>sports world. So you know, new subject for me as

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<v Speaker 3>well in terms of diving into those filings. But I

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<v Speaker 3>think what it comes down to that is easiest to

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<v Speaker 3>explain is that you know his companies. He has two

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<v Speaker 3>insurance companies, Delaware Life and clear Spring Life. They have

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<v Speaker 3>been making loans to other entities. And what the SEC

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<v Speaker 3>and US Attorney's Office in New York have been looking

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<v Speaker 3>at is you know whether or not he's standing on

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<v Speaker 3>both sides that, But is he on the side of

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<v Speaker 3>the person lending, the company lending and on the other

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<v Speaker 3>side of the borrower, which when you're using insurance funds,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, those are supposed to be pretty low risk.

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<v Speaker 3>There's not a lot of visibility into what risk factors

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<v Speaker 3>there are with these loans. But you know, there's a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of questions on you know, how much was known

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<v Speaker 3>why these were listed as companies that had nothing to

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<v Speaker 3>do with his own company when clearly they've now kind

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<v Speaker 3>of righted some of these filings to show a significant

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<v Speaker 3>increase in the amount of affiliated debt.

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<v Speaker 4>Melody. I watch games and I'm like, okay, I can

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<v Speaker 4>talk about that. I read your article and I'm like,

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<v Speaker 4>I need your help, Melody. And I think fans are

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<v Speaker 4>also that way because I don't want to portray this

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<v Speaker 4>and tell us maybe if I'm right or if I'm wrong,

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<v Speaker 4>as Oh, the Dodgers, all this must be more nefarious

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<v Speaker 4>stuff by the Dodgers when I don't feel like the

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<v Speaker 4>Dodgers are a nefarious organization. Can you explain it to

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<v Speaker 4>fans who are confused by this, how it affects the

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<v Speaker 4>team that they either hate or the team that they love.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean the Dodgers have you know, had a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of success under Mark Walter. You know they've enjoyed

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<v Speaker 3>the deep pockets of this owner. But you know, I

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<v Speaker 3>think that there's just a lot of questions still, like

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<v Speaker 3>there's a lot left to be kind of answered. So

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<v Speaker 3>I understand sort of the you know, speculation, but we

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<v Speaker 3>don't have a lot of answers to this. You know

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<v Speaker 3>it will there be criminal charges, no idea, and until

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<v Speaker 3>you know that happens, you know, I think that it's

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<v Speaker 3>all kind of speculative.

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<v Speaker 2>Right now, I'll dive into more nitty gritty.

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<v Speaker 1>So when you were explaining affiliated versus you know, unaffiliated,

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<v Speaker 1>can you get into what that means?

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<v Speaker 2>There are certain regulations.

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<v Speaker 1>That a company in this position has where I guess

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<v Speaker 1>you can loan a certain amount. This is where I'm

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<v Speaker 1>going to start to lose it, so I won't go

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<v Speaker 1>too long on the question.

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<v Speaker 2>But how that affected things?

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<v Speaker 1>And then is there some type of potential payback in

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<v Speaker 1>the past when this happens where you do actually have

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<v Speaker 1>to give money back?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, So in an insurance company, your money that you're

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<v Speaker 3>essentially loaning needs to be low risk because these are

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<v Speaker 3>people's savings. This is people who are going to rely

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<v Speaker 3>on this money in retirement or death benefits. You know,

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<v Speaker 3>this money is pretty sacred in the world of finances.

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<v Speaker 3>But what's happening in these companies is they're loaning it

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<v Speaker 3>out to companies that are affiliated with the Delaware Life

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<v Speaker 3>and clear Spring Life. And so what the problem is

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<v Speaker 3>is that when you're it's not that these are illegal,

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<v Speaker 3>although there are some limits to how much you can

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<v Speaker 3>loan out to affiliated companies. The problem is is that

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<v Speaker 3>they didn't disclose them. So, like the easiest example I've

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<v Speaker 3>found to kind of explain what's happening here is Delaware Life,

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<v Speaker 3>which is controlled by Mark Walters, gave a loan and

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<v Speaker 3>it's a small loan compared to what we're looking at

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<v Speaker 3>in the billions at issue here, but it was a

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<v Speaker 3>you know, four million dollar loan that was given to

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<v Speaker 3>Dodger Tickets, and that's the entity with the Dodgers that

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<v Speaker 3>deals with like season tickets and other business operations. In

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<v Speaker 3>these documents that were filed at the end of twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty five, Delaware Life, again owned by Mark Walters, controlled

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<v Speaker 3>by Mark Walters, listed that loan as being unaffiliated. That

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<v Speaker 3>is obviously a company that he has an interest in

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<v Speaker 3>that his other stakes in the Dodgers has an interest

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<v Speaker 3>in so by listing that as unaffiliated, you're essentially telling

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<v Speaker 3>the regulators that you know, this is you know, debt

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<v Speaker 3>that we we have fully vetted. We have you know,

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<v Speaker 3>not an interest in whether or not they pay it back.

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<v Speaker 3>Like you know, that part is pretty clear here that

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<v Speaker 3>like they have an interest on both sides whether that

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<v Speaker 3>loan gets paid back. And you know, how do you

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<v Speaker 3>kind of vet that transaction if you have a stake

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<v Speaker 3>on both sides? Does that make sense?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, that makes as much sense as I can make

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<v Speaker 1>out of it, of course.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>This is definitely not our wheelhouse, but super interesting and

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<v Speaker 1>ties into the baseball world here, right, It's not like

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<v Speaker 1>you're not saying the word Dodgers as we talk about this.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to go we can work our way backward,

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<v Speaker 1>but I want to go to the end game here.

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<v Speaker 1>Are there any indications, I know you don't have the

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<v Speaker 1>answer to this, but just based on the research that

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<v Speaker 1>you did that it could affect the Dodgers, even in

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<v Speaker 1>terms of a potential sale or partially selling shares.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a valid question.

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<v Speaker 1>When Mark Walter has sold the Lakers, it sounds like

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<v Speaker 1>there's something going on with Chelsea FC. I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>if it's officially happened yet and and there were I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know if this was reports, rumors, et cetera about

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<v Speaker 1>how the TV contract maybe they could get you know,

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<v Speaker 1>some money up front there. So can you explain the

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<v Speaker 1>sports side and the selling off that has occurred in

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<v Speaker 1>the last couple of weeks.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean to get into this. I mean Mark

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<v Speaker 3>Walter is a sports mogul. Like it's a name that

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<v Speaker 3>most people like might not know. You know, it's not

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<v Speaker 3>you know, he's not a flashy owner, so he's not

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<v Speaker 3>a somebody who kind of comes to the forefront when

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<v Speaker 3>you're talking about owners. But he's got a stake in

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<v Speaker 3>a in multiple leagues, you know, not just the NBA

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<v Speaker 3>and you know, Major League Baseball, it's you know, women's

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<v Speaker 3>hockey league. So what this has to do with the

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<v Speaker 3>Dodgers is really everything and we don't know yet, Like

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<v Speaker 3>it's like somewhere between there. You know, the Dodgers are

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<v Speaker 3>in the finances here, like their finances are coming into

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<v Speaker 3>play in this you know investigation. You can see that

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<v Speaker 3>even with Dodger ticket again a small item in the

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<v Speaker 3>millions of dollars at play here. But you know, whether

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<v Speaker 3>or not it leads to a sale. I think, like

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<v Speaker 3>that's too early to say, you know, but you know,

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<v Speaker 3>it does mean that everyone is kind of looking and saying,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, what's the impact on deferred contracts? What is

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<v Speaker 3>the impact you know on their ability to spend big

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<v Speaker 3>in the future. So I think that there's you know,

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<v Speaker 3>without even the sale question coming up. This impacts the Dodgers.

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<v Speaker 5>Yeah. I think you kind of answered my question because

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<v Speaker 5>it correctly. If we're wrong, he owns about twenty seven

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<v Speaker 5>percent of the team, and if he has to sell,

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<v Speaker 5>I was wondering who would probably step up if there's

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<v Speaker 5>any indication of who would buy it, But you kind

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<v Speaker 5>of answered that question. We haven't quite got to the

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<v Speaker 5>point where he.

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<v Speaker 2>Has to sell, right.

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<v Speaker 3>He's a majority owner, so he has a large stake

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<v Speaker 3>in the Dodgers. I mean that that's you know, he

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<v Speaker 3>bought into this team. You know, he's owned it since

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<v Speaker 3>twenty twelve, and you know, I think that that's. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>there's a lot of money obviously with the Dodgers, and

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<v Speaker 3>it makes money, so it's not something you know, people

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<v Speaker 3>sports owners get into this business because this is a

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<v Speaker 3>you know, an asset that grows. I mean, look at

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<v Speaker 3>the Lakers. He bought it, you know, fourteen months ago.

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<v Speaker 3>It made two point five billion dollars in that one

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<v Speaker 3>year that he owned the team. I mean that's I mean,

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<v Speaker 3>who wouldn't want that as a return on their investment?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, for sure. I think I think a lot of

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<v Speaker 4>people would would not complain about that. Is there did

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<v Speaker 4>you reach out to Major League Baseball? Is there something

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<v Speaker 4>that they're just sitting back and letting the federal investigation

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<v Speaker 4>take and whatever happens with the federal investigation, then they'd

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<v Speaker 4>make their decision or are they doing their own type

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<v Speaker 4>of investigation and how that handles the future for the

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<v Speaker 4>Dodgers and for Walters as one of the thirty majority owners.

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<v Speaker 3>You know that we've reached out to the Dodgers who

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<v Speaker 3>have said this has like the Lakers sale has nothing

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<v Speaker 3>to do with them, you know clearly in the finances

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<v Speaker 3>that part isn't a through line there. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I think that there's a lot of in the industry

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<v Speaker 3>that are kind of sitting back and waiting to see

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<v Speaker 3>what happens, you know, with the both the federal investigation

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<v Speaker 3>and the you know, SEC investigation. So I think there's

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<v Speaker 3>a lot of weight and figure out what's going on here.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll refer to a question and just a topic that

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<v Speaker 1>pops up frequently with the Dodgers. Many of their deals

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<v Speaker 1>and a lot of money is tied up in deferrals

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<v Speaker 1>deferred contracts. Does any of that tie into what's going

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<v Speaker 1>on here?

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<v Speaker 2>You know, whether you know.

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<v Speaker 1>It could be looked at as that was helpful during

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<v Speaker 1>all of this going on, or it could affect things

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<v Speaker 1>going forward, you know, even if again, like we're theorizing here,

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<v Speaker 1>he does need to sell a portion of the team

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<v Speaker 1>that factors into the portion of his shares because there

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<v Speaker 1>is whatever you want to call it debt or money

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<v Speaker 1>that's owed later on.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean, I don't don't get a sense that

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<v Speaker 3>people are worried about that money not being there. But

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<v Speaker 3>is you know, where is that money parked? I think

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<v Speaker 3>is a good question, you know, and whether or not

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<v Speaker 3>it's tied into you know, insurance companies and how policy

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<v Speaker 3>holders feel about their money being tied to, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>the Dodgers. I think a lot of people wouldn't realize that,

0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.200
<v Speaker 3>you know, they have a stake in the outcome of

0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:28.240
<v Speaker 3>the Dodgers with their you know, life annuity policies. And

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<v Speaker 3>uh death policy, uh death insurance. So I think, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>there's a lot to question on, you know, that element, And.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll ask one that I know our guys are texting

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<v Speaker 1>me about right now, and I'll bring it right to

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<v Speaker 1>the forefront. That were like, doesn't show hey Otani have

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<v Speaker 1>a key man clause and opt out in his contract?

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<v Speaker 2>That is true.

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<v Speaker 1>We spoke to your colleague Sam Blum the other day

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<v Speaker 1>about it. He wrote a great article touching on the subject.

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<v Speaker 1>At the time, when you look at that deal and show, hey,

0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:02.040
<v Speaker 1>o Tani signing for seven hundred million deferred, so net

0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:04.880
<v Speaker 1>present value more in the mid four hundreds, you don't

0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:07.160
<v Speaker 1>really think, oh, let's keep an eye on the key

0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:10.560
<v Speaker 1>man clause. Just in case Andrew Friedman or Mark Walter

0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:14.480
<v Speaker 1>end up jumping ship, there is at least some semblance

0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:17.880
<v Speaker 1>of a percentage of a possibility that he does have

0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:20.720
<v Speaker 1>that option. Now he's made it clear, at least as

0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:22.719
<v Speaker 1>Camp did. It seemed like in that article that he

0:12:22.760 --> 0:12:25.520
<v Speaker 1>wouldn't necessarily jump ship. But what it does in the

0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:29.520
<v Speaker 1>mainstream world is create people going, hey, maybe showey ops

0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.560
<v Speaker 1>out and he signs with my team. So just thoughts

0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:34.760
<v Speaker 1>on how I guess the percentage chance of this at

0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:38.840
<v Speaker 1>least could increase given his financial issues right now or

0:12:38.840 --> 0:12:41.480
<v Speaker 1>his financial turmoil that he's got to figure out, that

0:12:41.920 --> 0:12:44.000
<v Speaker 1>he could end up not being the majority owner, and

0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.760
<v Speaker 1>that could trigger a clause for the best player in

0:12:46.800 --> 0:12:49.080
<v Speaker 1>the sport over the last five years to have his

0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:51.440
<v Speaker 1>say on where he goes, not just where he goes,

0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:53.280
<v Speaker 1>but also to rip up a contract and sign a

0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:54.880
<v Speaker 1>new one that could be worth even more.

0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:59.440
<v Speaker 3>I mean that really plays in to to like the

0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:01.680
<v Speaker 3>Dodgers saying this has nothing to do with us, right, Like,

0:13:01.760 --> 0:13:04.200
<v Speaker 3>that's definitely the line that they would want to take

0:13:04.200 --> 0:13:07.360
<v Speaker 3>in this because you know, that is a key player,

0:13:07.559 --> 0:13:10.160
<v Speaker 3>a key man agreement that you know, I would love

0:13:10.760 --> 0:13:14.600
<v Speaker 3>you know, insight on you know why that was important

0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:17.880
<v Speaker 3>to a tani like you know, but I think we

0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:20.200
<v Speaker 3>we don't know. But I mean they're saying that he's

0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:21.959
<v Speaker 3>not going to exercise it, you know. I think that's

0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:24.120
<v Speaker 3>all we kind of know at this point. But you know,

0:13:24.200 --> 0:13:27.520
<v Speaker 3>are other teams going, hey, there's an out here and

0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:30.440
<v Speaker 3>we'd love to have you. I think that that's the

0:13:30.480 --> 0:13:33.079
<v Speaker 3>fun part of baseball.

0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:35.800
<v Speaker 2>What and yes, I'm with you. Yeah, it's a storyline.

0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:37.960
<v Speaker 1>One one last question for you as you continue to

0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:42.000
<v Speaker 1>cover this, is there one big question that you have

0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.480
<v Speaker 1>or piece that you think unravels that really helps to

0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:49.479
<v Speaker 1>tell the story here? For example, for me, from my perspective,

0:13:49.480 --> 0:13:51.360
<v Speaker 1>that's much less dug in to.

0:13:51.400 --> 0:13:52.360
<v Speaker 2>The story than you are.

0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.199
<v Speaker 1>I'm like, I want to know how much is do

0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:58.680
<v Speaker 1>and when and how that gets accomplished because and of

0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:00.520
<v Speaker 1>course we're not going to find out all of this finances.

0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:02.240
<v Speaker 1>But if he's in a situation where it's like, hey,

0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:04.840
<v Speaker 1>I got to come up with two, three, four, five

0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:07.920
<v Speaker 1>billion dollars more, it's not like you can. Some billionaires

0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:09.600
<v Speaker 1>can find that in their pocket. Others might have to

0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:12.160
<v Speaker 1>sell off assets. So that to me is the baseball

0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:14.319
<v Speaker 1>fan in me trying to figure out what's next.

0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:19.360
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think the liquidity issue is is fascinating. I mean,

0:14:19.960 --> 0:14:22.280
<v Speaker 3>I can't tell you like what it was like to

0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:24.760
<v Speaker 3>like pour over some of these insurance filings, you know,

0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.160
<v Speaker 3>starting at six am, when I started noticing that they

0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:31.840
<v Speaker 3>the second quarter filings were in there. You know. The

0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:35.040
<v Speaker 3>issue that like I'm seeing in there and like am

0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.600
<v Speaker 3>most interested in is the timeline of when these things

0:14:38.680 --> 0:14:41.160
<v Speaker 3>need to be paid back. I don't think that that

0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.680
<v Speaker 3>answers the question for like the federal investigation, because you know,

0:14:44.720 --> 0:14:48.040
<v Speaker 3>what was done was done, but there is obviously a timeline.

0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:53.280
<v Speaker 3>There's a restructuring plan that is in place with the

0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:56.640
<v Speaker 3>two insurance companies trying to write the ship. I think

0:14:56.680 --> 0:14:58.640
<v Speaker 3>the number that really stands out to a lot of

0:14:58.640 --> 0:15:02.600
<v Speaker 3>people that kind of tells you exactly how big of

0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:07.440
<v Speaker 3>an issue when we're talking about unaffiliated affiliated companies, you know,

0:15:07.560 --> 0:15:09.880
<v Speaker 3>is that on their balance sheet, Like they were saying

0:15:09.880 --> 0:15:14.680
<v Speaker 3>that three percent of their assets were from these affiliated companies,

0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:18.120
<v Speaker 3>and that made credit raiders go like, oh, that's that's good, Like,

0:15:18.200 --> 0:15:20.400
<v Speaker 3>let's give you a good rating. You know, on these

0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.720
<v Speaker 3>revised ones, it you know, jumped over forty percent and

0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.000
<v Speaker 3>that impacts their rating, which you know has a big

0:15:27.040 --> 0:15:29.600
<v Speaker 3>impact on their business. And so it becomes this kind

0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:35.040
<v Speaker 3>of cyclical issue when you're talking about this affiliated unaffiliated businesses.

0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:37.560
<v Speaker 3>But that's the question I think moving forward is like

0:15:37.560 --> 0:15:39.600
<v Speaker 3>what they're going to do. They've already moved six point

0:15:39.680 --> 0:15:44.080
<v Speaker 3>five billion dollars in a swap between companies to try

0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:47.400
<v Speaker 3>to take some of that affiliated debt off the books

0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:51.680
<v Speaker 3>for Delaware Life and clear Spring Life. So you know

0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.360
<v Speaker 3>that's what I'm looking at moving forward, is you know what,

0:15:54.360 --> 0:15:56.480
<v Speaker 3>what's their next play? What are they next going to

0:15:56.520 --> 0:16:01.840
<v Speaker 3>try to you know, liquefy like like interm of these assets.

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and we'll be following, We'll be waiting for the

0:16:04.800 --> 0:16:07.720
<v Speaker 1>next story as it sounds like this is just getting

0:16:07.720 --> 0:16:10.160
<v Speaker 1>going here. So Melodie, thank you so much for joining

0:16:10.280 --> 0:16:12.560
<v Speaker 1>us and helping us to figure some of this out.

0:16:12.720 --> 0:16:15.000
<v Speaker 1>And we appreciate the time and encourage everyone to check

0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.640
<v Speaker 1>out her article for much more Inside the Athletic.

0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:19.040
<v Speaker 2>Thank you appreciate it.

0:16:19.680 --> 0:16:20.560
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, thanks for having me.

0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.920
<v Speaker 6>Sea Geek is the official ticket marketplace for Major League Baseball,

0:16:24.920 --> 0:16:26.880
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0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:28.600
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0:16:28.640 --> 0:16:30.600
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0:16:30.640 --> 0:16:33.320
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0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.520
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0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:37.640
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0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:39.800
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0:16:40.840 --> 0:16:44.000
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, it's a great option. And summer is coming to

0:16:44.040 --> 0:16:45.080
<v Speaker 5>an end here soon.

0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.680
<v Speaker 7>I'm going out and finding all the day games possible,

0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:52.520
<v Speaker 7>all the warm weather cities so I could stay in

0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:56.200
<v Speaker 7>this tank top I can watch very competitive baseball as

0:16:56.240 --> 0:16:59.160
<v Speaker 7>the calendar turns into fall. I want to make sure

0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:02.080
<v Speaker 7>that I get the most out of this tank top

0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:04.840
<v Speaker 7>and warm weather and Sea Geek is where I would

0:17:04.880 --> 0:17:05.719
<v Speaker 7>go and get my seats.

0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:08.560
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0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:11.480
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0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:21.080
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0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.200
<v Speaker 2>All right, staying on for a few minutes.

0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:27.320
<v Speaker 1>First of all, I hope that was helpful the segment

0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:29.640
<v Speaker 1>we did there on what's going on with the Dodgers,

0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:33.600
<v Speaker 1>because I got lost in a few different wormholes over

0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.639
<v Speaker 1>the past twenty four hours reading things on social media,

0:17:36.960 --> 0:17:38.800
<v Speaker 1>most of it helpful, and I try to keep to

0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:41.960
<v Speaker 1>the business analysts. I think those are actually the best

0:17:41.960 --> 0:17:43.960
<v Speaker 1>ones to explain some of this right now, and some

0:17:44.040 --> 0:17:46.080
<v Speaker 1>of them are making a name for themselves in the

0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.720
<v Speaker 1>sports world where they're saying, hey, this is what this

0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.679
<v Speaker 1>looks like. When Melody was on with us earlier and

0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:56.119
<v Speaker 1>she's explaining the three percent versus the over forty percent

0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:59.119
<v Speaker 1>change and how that doesn't just affect the way that

0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.959
<v Speaker 1>you're judged legally as a company. And again stay with

0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.520
<v Speaker 1>me here I'm paraphrasing, but it also can affect the

0:18:04.600 --> 0:18:07.600
<v Speaker 1>status of the company, right and the way creditors rate it,

0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.120
<v Speaker 1>and it could really hurt the company, which then could

0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.000
<v Speaker 1>hurt the people who own the company and the money

0:18:12.040 --> 0:18:15.240
<v Speaker 1>that they borrowed. That's where the domino effect occurs. And

0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:18.960
<v Speaker 1>the percentage chance of Mark Walter selling his shares or

0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.400
<v Speaker 1>at least partial shares of the Dodgers has gone up

0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:27.360
<v Speaker 1>since a few months ago. Right like a few months ago,

0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:29.879
<v Speaker 1>someone said they'd be like, no way, there's been no

0:18:29.920 --> 0:18:33.080
<v Speaker 1>indication of that. This team's on fire. Why would you

0:18:33.119 --> 0:18:33.760
<v Speaker 1>sell right now?

0:18:35.840 --> 0:18:36.040
<v Speaker 2>Right?

0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:38.840
<v Speaker 4>Obviously, I mean other than you would make money if

0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:41.200
<v Speaker 4>you sell. But they've built this for the long term.

0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:43.639
<v Speaker 4>But to me, I just wanted I want to be

0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.080
<v Speaker 4>more educated on it because I think there's too many,

0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:54.800
<v Speaker 4>too many times or people here Dodgers' owner something not

0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:58.720
<v Speaker 4>maybe all above board, and they just jump right to

0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:02.280
<v Speaker 4>the yep, see deferred money. See I knew these guys

0:19:02.280 --> 0:19:04.480
<v Speaker 4>were I knew these guys were not illegal stuff Like

0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:06.919
<v Speaker 4>I knew I knew it, you know, just just another

0:19:06.960 --> 0:19:09.200
<v Speaker 4>thing that Major League Baseball turns its eye to.

0:19:09.359 --> 0:19:09.399
<v Speaker 2>No.

0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:11.120
<v Speaker 4>I wanted, like, I want to know what it does,

0:19:11.200 --> 0:19:13.120
<v Speaker 4>What does it mean? What is how is this gonna

0:19:13.119 --> 0:19:18.320
<v Speaker 4>affect they're spending from here on out or the effect

0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:21.000
<v Speaker 4>of Okay, maybe they have to cut back down to

0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:24.280
<v Speaker 4>three hundred and ninety million dollars payroll. Who, Like, I

0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.560
<v Speaker 4>want to know and not just jump to the conclusion

0:19:26.560 --> 0:19:29.280
<v Speaker 4>that I'm pretty sure probably most of Twitter and Instagram

0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:29.800
<v Speaker 4>have jumped to.

0:19:30.920 --> 0:19:33.200
<v Speaker 5>Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more. I'm not super

0:19:33.320 --> 0:19:36.000
<v Speaker 5>educated on it. And and these two things could be

0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:39.240
<v Speaker 5>very unrelated to all these other things that we're talking about,

0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:43.800
<v Speaker 5>could be very unrelated to actual Dodger payroll and Dodgers

0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:46.280
<v Speaker 5>deferred money. Once again, it's going to sound like we're

0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:48.920
<v Speaker 5>defending them. I just don't really know. This is out

0:19:49.000 --> 0:19:51.720
<v Speaker 5>of my comfort zone. I feel like I got very

0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:54.560
<v Speaker 5>educated when I'm on this flight tonight. I'm actually gonna

0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:57.240
<v Speaker 5>go through the entire article, try to educate myself a

0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:00.000
<v Speaker 5>little bit more. But eventually the truth is gonna come out,

0:20:00.040 --> 0:20:01.000
<v Speaker 5>and we're going to find out