American owners of Premier League clubs could be hit by the NFL lockout.
The Glazer family atManchester United, Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner and Arsenal's Stan Kroenke all have investment in NFL teams.
Jordan Kobritz, former minor league baseball owner and professor of sports management at Eastern New Mexico University, says the Glazers and Lerner could pay a heavy price if no settlement is reached.
“There’s no such thing as a drop-dead date, but in order for pre-season practice to take place as scheduled there probably needs to be a deal in place by July 15,” Kobritz told theDaily Express. “If this should drag on throughout July and into August, then some of the regularly scheduled games are going to be in jeopardy.
“Right now, the owners have not lost any money from this particular lockout because, technically, they don’t get any money until the pre-season begins and the advertising dollars start.
“The NFL requires season ticket holders to buy tickets for pre-season games at the same price and once those games start the NFL will start losing money. The estimate is that somewhere between $750million and one billion dollars is earned across the NFL during pre-season. If that’s in jeopardy, then we’re looking at some substantial numbers. There is some financial pain going on right now.”
Kobritz believes that Kroenke – one of two main shareholders at Arsenal – will remain relatively unscathed regardless of what transpires across the ocean.
Lerner and the Glazers, though, could soon be feeling the pinch.
“The Glazers may be hurting a little bit more than the Stan Kroenkes of this world,” Kobritz added. “Lerner is another one who is closer to the Glazers than to Kroenke when it comes to resources and his willingness to spend.”
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