April 27, 2016

Lincoln Splits

The CEO of the Mariners is stepping down:

Mariners CEO Howard Lincoln is to announce Wednesday that he is stepping down from his position with the ballclub, according to sources.

Lincoln, 76, has been at the helm of the Mariners since replacing former chairman John Ellis in 2000. Sources have indicated that team minority owner John Stanton will assume Lincoln’s role.

Since I saw that story this afternoon, more came out:

Update: The Mariners announced plans for Nintendo of America to sell its majority stake of the ballclub to a group led by minority owner John Stanton, who is slated to take over as CEO for the outgoing Howard Lincoln. The sale would value the Mariners franchise at $1.4 billion.

Lincoln was a big part of realizing that value:

Under his leadership, the Mariners have grown from a team purchased for $100 million in 1992 to a franchise valued at well over $1 billion.

It says a lot about the value of MLB franchises in general that a team that never won the World Series and disappointed for a long time is still worth over $1 billion dollars. Mr. Lincoln earned a quiet retirement.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *