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The Glazers: Fact or Myth

Posted Jun 8, 2010 by Ira Kaufman

Updated Jun 8, 2010 at 11:47 AM

By IRA KAUFMAN

TAMPA—Some aspects of the British media apparently don’t want the facts to get in the way of a good story.

There’s tremendous competition overseas for newspaper readers and the tabloids realized years ago that negative stories concerning the Glazer family drives traffic in London. Since the day that the Glazers purchased Manchester United in a heavily leveraged deal, there has been relatively little coverage of the soccer club’s astonishing success as a Premier League power and daily fanfare about the team’s debt structure.

While Man U was reeling off three consecutive Premier League titles, the Glazers found themselves on the defensive as a vocal but relatively small group of determined fans focused on the mounting debt. The Glazers say they have no intention of selling the world’s most popular sports franchise, pointing out they have never defaulted on a payment.

The facts are that Manchester United and the Buccaneers have a combined value of $3 billion, far above the price the Glazers paid for the franchises.

Like every other team in the NFL, the Bucs have some debt, but Forbes magazine estimates Tampa Bay’s debt/value ratio at 13 percent, one of the league’s lowest figures.

Manchester United finished one point behind Chelsea for the Premier League championship this season and the Glazers are smart enough to leave Sir Alex Ferguson alone. They don’t interfere with the club’s iconic manager and Ferguson says there is dynamic young talent in the Manchester United pipeline, difference makers waiting for an opportunity to replace established players.

That sounds like the same formula at work in Tampa as the Bucs surround second-year quarterback Josh Freeman with other young players. If the rebuilding plan fails, the Glazers will deserve their fair share of criticism, but to suggest they are going young in Tampa because the family is broke just doesn’t jive with the facts.

Yes, their debts are substantial, but so are the revenues of both the Bucs and Manchester United.

Meanwhile, the Glazers aren’t hurting.

And they aren’t selling.