Knicks Owner James Dolan Hates The NBA TV Deal Because He’s Selfish And Greedy

SOURCE – New York Knicks owner James Dolan leveled continued criticism of the NBA’s revenue sharing policies, outlining a denunciation of a possible 8% league office cut of the new $74.6 billion media deal and a national television and streaming package that renders the league’s regional sports networks as “unviable,” according to a letter shared with the NBA’s board of governors and obtained by ESPN on Monday.

“The NBA has made the move to an NFL model — deemphasizing and depowering the local market,” Dolan wrote in the letter. “Soon, your only revenue concern will be the sale of tickets and what color next year’s jersey will be. Don’t worry, because due to revenue pooling, you are guaranteed to be neither a success nor a failure.

“The inclusion of streaming partners in the proposal (e.g., Amazon Prime Video, Peacock) allows fans in all NBA markets to bypass their RSN to watch certain games in their local market. The proposal offers no local protections for RSNs.”

Why would James Dolan be so upset with a TV deal that’s worth $76 BILLION dollars to the NBA? Because James Dolan owns the cable channel MSG Sports and we all know by know that if it doesn’t directly benefit James Dolan, then James Dolan isn’t going to like it very much. I’m sure the other NBA owners read this letter while simultaneously rolling their eyes

Sports are filled with horrible owners so it’s an impressive feat that James Dolan can lay claim to being one of the worst. Sure, he had a weird obsession with the inept Isiah Thomas and it was his constant meddling that led the Knicks to be the biggest joke in the NBA for nearly a generation. But that’s not even him at his worst. Don’t forget that Dolan was found guilty of firing a woman out of spite for filling a sexual harassment claim against Thomas.

Dolan has gone after season ticket holders and has banned signs selling “Sell The Team” at MSG. He’s been horrible for so long, it’s easy to forget how bad he is. The Knicks have finally built a really good team but every Knicks fan knows they live in the sports version of a haunted house and all it takes is Dolan to creep out of the woodwork and destroy another team. Behind every newly cocky Knicks fan is a giant amount of terror. Dolan is always lurking.

Andrew Toth. Getty Images.

So why is this vindictive, petty and pathetic guy so mad about the TV/streaming deal? It levels the playing field. If you are the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers, you aren’t going to get the same local TV revenue as the Knicks. It’s even more pronounced when Dolan owns the cable network that airs those games. 

But these large NBA deals spread the money out evenly between the 30 teams. The Pacers make as much on this deal as the Knicks do. With more and more games going towards a national audience as opposed to a regional one, that means less revenue for the regional cable channels. Would that help grow the game to a larger audience to be able to watch more games? Sure, but you’re missing the big picture! Jimmy Dolan would have less money!

In defense of Dolan, he may not have earned his money but he did inherit it. I guess that’s not much of a defense. Hm. He bought the Wiz electronic stores…but they almost immediately went out of business and lost about $250 million dollars. Ummm…he owns the Sphere! That’s something!

James Dolan is a bitter man who only ever looks after himself. He’s also widely rich despite his best efforts. He’ll play lousy music in his band and own the Knicks as long he wants to. He wins in the end. 

But you know what the rest of us have going for us?

We’re not James Dolan.