00:00You're next to me, and it's awesome because not only are you an L.A. legend and being Derek Fisher,
00:05and you are.
00:06You are an absolute legend being Derek Fisher.
00:08Stop it.
00:09And you're also a very nice and humble guy.
00:12But it's also the fact that, you know, you were a head coach, you were a GM,
00:20and the thing that I just can't get past is you were also the head of the PA.
00:24So you just have such a unique perspective when it comes to sports, especially when we get to something close
00:29to, like, a CBA deadline that we are getting to in Major League Baseball.
00:34And this particular CBA is going to be brutal.
00:40I just, it's going to be brutal.
00:41How do I know that?
00:42Because it already is brutal.
00:44And there's a couple of things I do want to ask you as being the head of a PA in
00:48the past.
00:48But real quick, Dave Roberts was asked about it last night after the Dodgers' loss, and here is his quote.
00:54Listen, you can make it all about us if you want.
00:58We're here to win every game we can.
01:00I imagine other teams are also.
01:02Cap or not, we will beat anybody.
01:05And I love that.
01:06And yes, I mentioned yesterday, I do believe that the Dodgers are, whether wittingly or unwittingly,
01:13being used as a Trojan horse for Major League Baseball and the owners as this pay discrepancy that the Dodgers
01:19are going for it every single year,
01:21and they're spending all this money, and we can't compete.
01:23They can, but that's what their argument is, that we can't compete.
01:27And it's very, very frustrating to certain fans, but other fans kind of, there's no other way to say it,
01:33eat it up.
01:34Absolutely eat it up.
01:35And there is something I was talking with you off-air about, and it's simply the message of messaging.
01:42How is it possible that players' associations across the board are so bad at the messaging to getting it to
01:52fans?
01:52Because seemingly, fans have a knee-jerk reaction, and I do not understand why, to side with the owners in
02:01these situations.
02:02The narrative of a, you're not getting a sports season because these players are greedy,
02:09somehow enters the brain of your random sports fan and doesn't let go.
02:16What do you think players' associations, and maybe even specifically the Major League Baseball Players Association,
02:22needs to do about their messaging?
02:26I mean...
02:28I know.
02:29So it's like an impossible question because, I mean, you were the head of the PA, and you experienced it,
02:34right?
02:34Yeah, I think oftentimes, you know, players' associations, unions have in-house, you know,
02:43public relations or media relations folks that work for the union or the PA.
02:48But because the union and PAs are not for-profit entities, it's a union.
02:54So there's a responsibility financially, and there's a fiduciary responsibility to not spend your dues on wasteful things.
03:04So your PR and media relations budget can't be the biggest line item when you go back and look at
03:13the financial statements or the P&Ls.
03:15And I think PAs and unions need to consider the reality that, as you approach collective bargaining agreement windows, it's
03:26crisis PR time.
03:27Yeah.
03:27Now, those prices are different for crisis PR and media representation.
03:33And so it goes from, like, consulting with outside PR firms to, you know, actually you have to go out
03:45and win the battle of public opinion.
03:48And you really do.
03:51The pressure from the public, the fans, are oftentimes the only thing that will move the needle for ownership groups.
04:00It really is, because those are the fans that are buying the tickets, that are streaming the games, that are
04:07filling up the stadiums and the arenas.
04:09And so unless an owner feels like fans and people want a different result, oftentimes they won't move.
04:20And so that's where I think the messaging kind of battle comes in is the PAs don't necessarily think of
04:30it as, not necessarily not think of it, not necessarily equipped to win that battle over six, seven, eight months.
04:40Because it starts, you know, it starts 12 to 18 months before you actually get to the CBA expiry.
04:48Oh, yeah. We got to tell all the way until December 1st for this one.
04:51And so you're in crisis PR mode that entire time.
04:55That could cost you millions of dollars for a major pro sports league and major pro sports, you know, players
05:03association.
05:04And so you just have to be willing to explain that to your players, that it's worth the investment.
05:12Because if you're losing that battle, you're done.
05:15Yeah.
05:16To be honest.
05:16Because, you know, so this has always been my approach.
05:20I really try really hard to go more the educational route.
05:24I try to, like, mention to people where money is being made, how money is being spent and allocated.
05:29I want to make, I try to make fans more informed and try to make them more understanding of the
05:35situation, especially when it comes to CBAs.
05:36Because I also hear the argument, well, who am I supposed to back in this?
05:40The millionaires or the billionaires?
05:42The answer is the millionaires, unquestionably.
05:44I can't stress that enough.
05:45The answer is the millionaires.
05:47I know you don't want to say it out loud, but that is the answer to the question that you
05:52guys keep putting out there.
05:53And I get that you guys are looking at it, well, I need to be able to afford to go
05:57to these games.
05:58A salary cap is not going to make games more affordable.
06:01It's not going to make the TV packages more affordable.
06:04Those numbers are only going to go up as time goes forward.
06:08And make no mistake, Major League Baseball wants a salary cap, and I think the main reason is because they
06:15have a new TV deal coming up in less than three years.
06:19Major League Baseball was talking about doing a new TV deal this year.
06:22And instead of doing a massive comprehensive TV deal with one particular company or anything like that,
06:27they worked out a similar thing to what the NBA did and kind of diversified through multiple companies.
06:32And all of these deals end in three years.
06:35Roughly two years after the new CBA would be relatively signed.
06:41So yeah, I do think every owner would like very much to cap their leagues and get a multi-billion
06:48dollar television deal that they can all play with.
06:52I understand that.
06:53That is something that I understand if you're an owner, you want that to happen.
06:56But that's going to cost a lot of money to players, and it's going to devastate the future of finances
07:02for Major League Baseball.
07:03And here's the other thing that always drives me nuts, dude.
07:08Why is every owner a capitalist until it's time to continue being a capitalist?
07:14All of a sudden, every billionaire's cash poor today?
07:17Knock it off, please!
07:19It's an interesting phenomenon.
07:21It is.
07:22But it's a part of trying to run a business, right?
07:27And running their pro sports team is a business.
07:31Every business, at least you would like to think, is making their best effort to be successful, to be profitable.
07:41And so pro sports is not always that business in the immediate.
07:47And so I think that's sometimes where that struggle comes in, is where team ownership groups and folks that own
07:54teams and their other businesses, there are more structures and ways to cap costs, to cut costs, to reduce things
08:03in order to increase profit margins and revenue margins.
08:08But in pro sports, oftentimes, in real time, you're not going to necessarily be able to increase your margins or
08:18your profits as much as you would in owning a regular business.
08:23The value of a pro sports team growing over time, it's like the biggest piece of real estate you'll ever
08:31own.
08:32That's more so what owning a pro sports team is like.
08:35So, again, the example of buying a home, and if you own that home long enough, and you buy it
08:43in the right location, and you do some of the right things to maintain it, the value in that home
08:49increases exponentially, 2x, 3x, 4x, or more.
08:53And it's almost like a stock and security that you have to be willing to purchase and just hold it
08:59and ride all the up and down.
09:01And hopefully invest it.
09:02And hope, yes.
09:03And hopefully, yes, of course, invest in.
09:06And that's what owning a team is like.
09:08But I think as you've seen more private equity and hedge funds and other types of sports ownership groups come
09:17in, it's getting back more to just about the number.
09:21Yeah.
09:21And so you lose some of that connection to the reality that sports teams are not your typical investment, but
09:30they're trying to turn it into that in some ways.
09:33And so players just have to keep fighting the battle, but the messaging is a part of fighting that battle
09:39that you have to be mindful of.
09:41Look at the San Diego Padres.
09:43The San Diego Padres are a small market team, or so I'm constantly told.
09:47Padres set attendance records.
09:49They spent money on their lineup.
09:51They spent money on their branding, everything.
09:54They generated huge gates.
09:56And by 2024, they were producing roughly $500 million in revenue.
10:02That was a franchise record.
10:03Oh, and by the way, they just sold for $4 billion.
10:09Small market, huh?
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