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Can Druckenmiller Pierce Steel Curtain?
The financier seeks to buy the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that depends on the controlling family’s willingness to relinquish its stake.
July 11, 2008
The Pittsburgh Steelers, by any stretch of the imagination, have it pretty rough right now.
Those who read teams’ tea leaves and spout analyses on television said that, between their competitive in-division play and the Yinzers’ matchups with National Football Conference East teams including the World Champion New York Giants, Pittsburgh’s got the toughest schedule in the National Football League.
No wonder why Vegas oddsmakers were shorting Steeler stock at 25-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, this, despite a strong playoff showing from the team. Teams that completely failed to make the postseason are getting better play than that.
And, now, the team with the most crowded trophy case in the American Football Conference is facing even tougher odds: the odds that the Rooney family, which has run the storied franchise since its inception, will be able to maintain control of the organization.
A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal detailed how Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney and his son, Art Rooney II, are working together to buy out the shares of the elder Rooney’s brothers who also share a stake in the Steel Curtain. The outlying Rooney brothers, however, might not go so quietly, especially when financier Stanley Druckenmiller has declared an interest in buying the Steelers. The head of Duquesne Capital Management could throw a major wrench in negotiations among family, especially when there is such a high fluctuation on the team’s price tag.
Estimates for the Steelers range between $800 million and $1.2 billion, which creates plenty of room for conflict.
The Journal piece that examined the logistics of Steelers stakes sales said the plan under which the senior Rooney seeks to buy out others would require a waiver from the NFL, as it would surpass the league’s debt limits for team ownership. Under that plan, Dan Rooney’s family would spend the next decade assuming considerable debt to buy additional team equity so they could continue running the franchise.
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