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Wiil Rush Buy the Rams?

With the death of Georgia Frontiere and the possibility of a large estate tax bill, the prospect that the St.Louis Rams may be sold has been bouncing around for the last couple of months. Of course, the fact that new owner Chip Rosenbloom lives in California probably hasn't hurt the talk any.

One of the names that has recently floated to the surface as a potential buyer is Rush Limbaugh, noted clown of the radio airwaves. You see, Rush is a huge football fan as we know from his days, however few, on Monday Night Football. He doesn't know anything about football, as we also know from his days on Monday Night Football, but that hasn't stopped him from amassing a fortune talking about politics, which he also doesn't know anything about. Rush grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, just downriver from St. Louis, and while he claims that has nothing to do with his interest in the team, there is little doubt that it adds a little extra to the business decision he will make.

Can he afford it? Well, he just signed a new deal with Premiere Radio Networks estimated to be worth $300 million, but that doesn't go too far in today's NFL. Rush claims to have no debt, but Forbes values the Rams at just over $900 million so he will need partners and a significant debt to acquire the team. He, or any new owner (or the existing ownership) will likely need St. Louis to step up and renovate the Jones Dome to bring it line with all of the new stadiums brought into the league since it was built. The Rams lag behind much of the league in stadium revenue.

Of course, there is one final hurdle to any attempt by Rush to buy the Rams. There is the little matter of his conviction for drug possession. I'm not sure how Commissioner Goodell will react to a potential owner with a drug conviction when he is trying to clean up the league's drug problem with players, but it would seem to be difficult to square accepting an ownership application from someone who has a drug conviction and then trying to enforce suspensions on players.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on July 27, 2008 (boomark / email).