Well. Living in Florida 51% of the time is his choice to put lifestyle/wealth over everything else, so no credit/respect there. Two covid seasons sure, which is why I asked about the last five. Also I imagine owners could have had special access to watch their teams during that time. Kim's health issues arose in June 2022, so that only covers last season.
He has been relatively invisible as an owner, and his "fandom" is entirely uninspiring and more and more appears cover for plain, cold business (which is why I'm paying attention to the "close to" part in "close to nil chance he sells the team.")
Well-thought out stuff.
I say massively profitable because there are few businesses available that someone can park billions of dollars in, become the sole controller of, linked to such a strong brand, with a guarantee of no new competition/dilution, and unquestioned potential income/appreciation. I do think an annual dividend of 6-7% on $1.4 billion with zero risk of underperformance is an investment that most everyone would be interested in. And the NFL is a secure enough vessel that while yes, there's no profit until a capital event, there's also no chance that the $4 billion valuation disappears or even decreases. If it did, it would be because of something like WW3 and we'd all have much larger things to worry about than whether the cash in a fracking mobster's pocket is real or virtual.
Do you know whether NFL owners can borrow against the value of their franchise to free up capital to invest elsewhere? Or is selling a portion to a minority owner at the current valuation the only way to unlock funds? I could see the NFL being pretty strict on that type of transaction.
Your factory example is interesting. The main difference I see is that unlike independent factory owners, NFL owners are "obligated" to build in the sense that they are required to provide or arrange a suitable venue for their team to host NFL games in, at the behest of the other 31 franchises they profit-share with. The Bills have already done the "more economical repair" twice over and are only building now because they have exhausted that avenue. As you said, like many businesses with significant infrastructure, teams facing a major capital project will often look to sell or relocate, with the result usually being new subsidies that quiet those options.
And I say it's "the least they can do" because I agree, the Pegula's will likely recoup all of their own stadium expenditure within a couple years (while also, more importantly, renewing their "right" to be a part of the NFL cabal of guaranteed profits/appreciation for another 50 years).