Here's a new wrinkle: if Michael Jordan fails to return to the Washington Wizards in a management capacity, it could cost Abe Pollin and Ted Leonsis $10 million.
The story, which appears in this morning's Washington Post (and co-written by Jordan pal Michael Wilbon), is keyed off of Jordan's desire to stay with the team -- but I think this latest revelation points to a far larger story.
Back when Jordan returned to the NBA in a Wizards uniform, league rules forced him to sell his ownership interest in Leonsis's company -- Lincoln Holdings.
Lincoln is the company that Leonsis and his partners set up as a holding company that comprises the Washington Capitals and their 44 percent share of Washington Sports and Entertainment. Pollin remains Washington Sports' majority owner.
On the surface, Jordan's golden parachute payment of $10 million looks like nothing more than a quid pro quo: come back to the court, and when your done we'll make you whole again either by letting you have your old job back, or giving you a lump sum buyout.
I'm beginning to think that Leonsis brought Jordan to the Wizards for one reason: to serve as his Trojan Horse to pry open Pollin's organization and speed the takeover of his local sports empire. This is a huge Washington, D.C. business story -- one that the local press so far has framed as a clash of egos, but should now be looked upon as a steel cage match for control of most of the city's sports properties.
Why? Look at the way the deal developed:
Leonsis makes a personal appeal to Jordan to bring him to Washington. The deal he offers: purchase a piece of the Wizards through me and my partners, and I'll prevail upon Pollin to give you control of basketball operations with the Wizards.
Of course, in the back of everyone's mind, was the possibility of Jordan's return to the game -- and the potential profits that would line everyone's pockets. But once he did come back, the NBA collective bargaining agreement forced him to sell his share of Lincoln Holdings, as a player can't also be even a part owner of a franchise.
Jordan plays his two seasons. Now that he's done, he wants back in on both management and ownership. But there are, as we might say, complications. If we look back at the stories that surfaced on Sunday, we know that Jordan wants more control than he had before -- a deal that might even force out Pollin loyalists like Wizards team president, Susan O'Malley.
Make no mistake, if Jordan does come back to the Wizards, he wants to run the show himself.
And now Pollin has a choice: he can let Jordan back in, potentially giving up significant control of the team he brought to Washington; or Pollin can pay his share of Jordan's golden parachute (probably somewhere in the neighborhood between $5-6 million) and get him to walk away.
And don't doubt that if Jordan does walk away, Leonsis and his partners are going to spin it that the fault is Pollin's, and Pollin's alone.
Pollin is in a tough spot -- one nobody should envy. Stay tuned, the ugliness is just beginning.
POSTSCRIPT: Can anyone out there tell me why this golden parachute for Jordan doesn't violate the NBA's collective bargaining agreement? Seems to me like it has the potential to set a precedent that would allow every owner to circumvent the salary cap.
UPDATE: Tom Boswell doesn't get it.
