He is, as his father always was, a step ahead of the crowd. Despite the loud laments of acting commissioner Bud Selig, and those of O'Malley himself, family ownership of sports franchises is not doomed by the Dodgers' sale. The O'Malleys, in fact, may eventually resurface as owners of a National Football League team in Los Angeles. O'Malley's problem is that a sports franchise that appreciates over a long period of time can be an unwieldy asset to inherit. Estate taxes can reach 55 percent.
Prudence suggests precautions be taken.
Mike Brown is presently engaged in a high-stakes battle with the Internal Revenue Service over his rights of succession with the Bengals. It is a struggle common to second-generation franchise owners, and hard to predict. O'Malley has chosen to spare his heirs that aggravation, and figures to leave them an eye-popping profit. The O'Malleys now own nearly 100 percent of the franchise. Their selling price will surely be unprecedented among American sports franchise, but the package also includes Dodger Stadium, the 300 acres of downtown Los Angeles on which the stadium is situated, a sprawling spring training complex in Vero Beach, Fla., and a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.