NOVEMBER 26: The sale has been formally announced.
NOVEMBER 21: MLB owners have approved the sale of the Kansas City Royals baseball club to area businessman John Sherman, as reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan (Twitter link).
In August, word came that longtime Royals owner David Glass was discussing a potential sale with the KC-based Sherman, with the final price expected to exceed $1BB. Today’s procedural approval by owners and the league itself marks an official transition of ownership.
Sherman’s acquisition was never expected to be in serious doubt, in part due to the 64-year-old’s existing ties to the game. Sherman has been a minority stakeholder in the division-rival Indians since 2016, holding the official title of vice chairman since that time. Sherman, who made his fortune in the natural gas and energy industries, is expected to divest himself of his ties to the Indians now that this sale is approved.
Glass’ tenure as KC owner saw his club reach the broadest possible spectrum of highs and lows. Glass purchased the Royals for a reported $96MM back in 2000. Over the next two decades, the franchise would record 100-or-more losses in six separate campaigns, while reaching the World Series consecutively in 2014 and 2015 (ultimately bringing home a ring in ’15). Next year will mark the 14th full season of club direction under GM Dayton Moore, with the Royals currently engaged in another future-oriented youth movement.
MB923
Almost read this as Joel Sherman
Old User Name
That would be awesome!!!
StandUpGuy
Who is Joel Sherman again? I recognize his name but I can’t put my finger on exactly who he is.
Old User Name
Writer for the NY Post and is on MLB Network often.
StandUpGuy
Ahhh. Late 40’s or 50’s with black hair, right?
Old User Name
you just described most of the writers on MLB Network. Probably best to just do a Google search.
Perksy
That would be Jon Heyman. Sherman’s hair is lighter brown with grey mixed and he’s very skinny too.
bobtillman
Ambassador to the Ukraine, overheard a phone call between the President and Nikita Krushef……
I may be a bit confused here…..
StandUpGuy
All I can tell you is don’t type the current Presidents name into the comments on this site. You can say the name Barack Obama or any other past president but if you type the current Presidents name they will block your comment and say that it “is awaiting moderation.” I know they don’t want politics on the site but I discovered that by a completely apolitical conversation. Someone started talking about people that were hated by the media and I mentioned the presidents name. They blocked my post even though it had nothing to do with politics. I then did a test where I made a post that only had the current Presidents name and they blocked that too. After that I did a test where I typed Obama’s name and that went through no problem. People saw what I did so they shut down the comments section for the entire post. I was a little surprised because it wasn’t a political conversation. It’s not like they were trying to stop a political dispute (unless things happened afterwards that I didn’t get to see. It just kind of seems like they don’t want the current Presidents name to be allowed on the site in any form but Obama and Beto O’Rourke are perfectly fine. If anyone wants to test it out type the current President’s name alone and try to post it as a comment. Then type any other presidents name and post it as a comment. Only the current president will be blocked. I bet they will close comments just for that. Which is very weird because there is no political discussion and I am apathetic personally. It seems like they just don’t want the current (and only current) president’s name to show up on this site and they close down comments to make sure nobody realizes it. I am not the biggest supporter of the current president by any stretch of the imagination, but why block posts and close comments just because people mention his name when they can mention every other president/politician’s name?
SoCalStuntman
He never even mentioned the current Presidents name so why even mention it!! Trying to stir up unnecessary controversy…. week!!
NU Wildcats
John Quincy Adams
The Ghost of Bobby Bonilla
Millard Fillmore
James Garfield
James Buchanan
Jimmy Carter
Calvin Coolidge
Story totally checks out
5toolMVP
The Donald. Ha!
jorge78
Because the
supporters of
he who will not
be named go
bonkers with
name calling.
Even on non
political posts.
They are rapid
deluded
sheep…..
kyredsox17
*Weak!!
awf111969
I read it as Peabody and Sherman
Bochys Retirement Fund
I spent the entirety of reading this article wondering how he makes so much money as a baseball writer
RoyalsFanAmongWolves
account in the cayman islands
DarkSide830
took ya long enough. ridiculous they let this carry into the offseason.
jkoch717
It has to be approved by the owners, and that can only happen at owners meetings. Those meetings are held twice a year (I think), so there was no “ridiculous[ness]” for “let[ting it] carry into the offseason.” Learn the rules.
jd396
Doing a billion dollar transaction is not exactly like ordering McNuggets through the drive through.
5toolMVP
I’d like to order one MLB team off the dollar menu, a double cheeseburger, large fries and DrPepper. …that’ll be $1,200,000,006.45 (sorry cashier cannot accept bills larger than $20)
andrewgauldin
I got confused with Bruce Sherman.
StandUpGuy
Who is Bruce Sherman?
Geebs
Owner of the Marlins
vtadave
I thought this was Richard Sherman the football player.
titanic struggle
That’s a fairly good return on your investment right there…
ScottCFA
I made 10x on my Visa stock in 9 years. However, being a plain stockholder isn’t as cool as owning a baseball team!
Vizionaire
arte moreno bought the angels for $184 mil. the team is now worth $2-2.3 billion. that’s a nice return!
vtadave
Jerry Buss bought the Lakers, Kings, the Forum, and a 13k acre ranch for $67.5 million. The Lakers are now valued at $3.7 billion
Bart Harley Jarvis
I don’t agree that he should move the team to Montreal. KC fans don’t deserve to lose a second team like DC.
its_happening
Why would anyone want to do that or even suggest that move?
Rocket32
Doubt the Royals are going anywhere. If any team will be moving anytime soon it’s likely gonna be the Rays, A’s, or Marlins.
Sky14
The Marlins aren’t going anywhere. Their lease locks them into Maimi for awhile.
MajorLeague79
David Glass specifically sought out Sherman to purchase the team as he is from Kansas City and wouldn’t move the team.
lettersandnumbersonly
Not a bad 20 year return on investment. 1billion on a 100million investment. 2 world series appearances with 1 championship. I’d take that. I’d also be happy with 1/100th of the start up fee. But that’s just me.
whyhayzee
I guess he reached the Glass ceiling.
kona
Epstein didn’t kill himself
bobtillman
Final Jeopardy Answer:
“Christmas Ornaments, Drywall, Jeffrey Epstein”
Question: “What are 3 things that can’t hang themselves”.
moody
Dead pedophiles tell no tales
JoeBrady
It’s called Arkancide. An entirely new category.
moody
I read it as Sherman Helmsley. Movin’ on up like George and Weezie…
sdnative
Excellent now that that’s over with, first order of business is trading Whit Merrifield to the Padres
RoyalsFanAmongWolves
nope. And don’t suggest for Wil Myers because we don’t want a large contract like that. Whit plays six positions. He’s worth more than the Padres have in their farm.
JoeBrady
Trading Whit should be a slam dunk. KC finished 26th, without a lot of young guys starting to emerge. Whit is probably already on his downhill slide, but still with a lot of value.
Unless your goal is 65-97, then trading Whit should be your first priority.
MajorLeague79
I completely agree with you that the Royals need to trade Whit.
Josh blankenship
Obama
canocorn
William Henry Harrison
pustule bosey
doing a quick google it looks like this guy is also the vice chairman of the indians and a minority shareholder – how exactly does that work if he owns stake in 2 competing clubs? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Sherman_(businessman)
Joe Kerr
Read the entire story, your answer is in it. 2nd to last paragraph.
pustule bosey
oh duh missed that pert
jonnyzuck
I don’t know how often it happens, but owners are often partial owners of other franchises before they buy a controlling stake in a team
brewers.rule1978
One thing I’m wondering about this sale: what does this mean for their rebuild and cash flow for salary? Will they be playing more like the bigger boys or still keep the small market limits?
isa408
If the price was stated as “$96MM” back in 2000, shouldn’t it be stated as “$1MMM” now? 🙂
sergefunction
I read this as Sherman Tank, the most widely-used medium-sized tank by the United States and the Western Allies during World War II.
jd396
I’m wondering if Mr. Peabody is part of the ownership group.