Montreal financial update 39.8

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handaspencer
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Montreal financial update 39.8

Post by handaspencer » Thu Jul 25, 2019 11:01 am

One of the biggest challenges guiding a team through a rebuild is remaining profitable but still spending money to improve the organization. When I took over in 2038 this organization was truly at a crossroads. They had young talent but they was also full of overpaid veterans. The decision was ultimately made that the over priced veterans was too much to overcome and would prevent us from building a championship level team in the short term. Many veterans was allowed to enter free agency and other veterans was moved for prospects. Montreal still has 2 unmovable contracts in Charles Martin and Vicente Chavez who make a combined 24 million per season which accounts for 22% of the cap and Montreal is stuck with this dead money until the conclusion of the 2040 season.

Montreal entered this season near the bottom of the league in player payroll having the payroll under 75 mill which is well short of the 110 million BBA cap. Why would Montreal spend so little when the average BBA payroll is 93 mill. Just 2 seasons ago Montreal had a budget of 140 million after coming off a 94 win season and made a commitment to veterans and sending some of their better prospects away for win now mode. Unfortunately that window closed in 2037 after almost a decade of winning in Montreal. The sudden drop has created the lowest attendance in team history and revenue is dropping like a rock.

Going into last off season I was open minded in regards to free agency. I was not going to overpay but I was also looking to spend to make the Blazers better. After a couple weeks into the off season it became obvious the guys I was targeting was also being targeted by other organizations and I was not interest in a bidding war. Yes its very true in order to make money you must spend money but spending in FA was just too risky with so much dead money on the books already and I didn't want to set the organization back even further.

I am on track to have my budget drop to 110 mill next season which equals the BBA salary cap. In my opinion this is the danger zone, its hard to compete in the BBA when your budget is below the BBA cap. If you can keep your budget above the BBA cap you can hide some of the problems and don't make the mistakes feel so painful. How can i prevent my budget from dropping under the BBA cap?

I decided my number #1 priority as GM of the Blazers is to remain profitable during this rebuild, so here is a breakdown of where my money went

Montreal Budget 120 mill
Player Expenses 74.1 mill
Staff Expenses 6 mill
IFA expenses 11.2 mill
Draft expenses 7.9 mill
Misc Expenses 1.3 mill

Projected profit 8.3 mill

Note I have spent 19 mill in signing prospects through IFA and the draft. I had draft picks that failed to sign last season and I spent big in IFA which was part of my strategy for the 2039 season. In order to turn a profit this season with these prospect expenses facing me it forced me to have a payroll under 80 million to remain profitable.

2040 and Beyond

Going into the 2041 off season we have lots of money that will be coming off the books. We have hesitated so far to trade some of our younger talent on the Blazers but on the other hand we are also open minded. Our young talent that includes Juan Santana, Kevin MacKeith, Vicente Lopez and Jesus Lopez will need decisions on extensions within the next few seasons. We have not been able to draft any of the top elite talent the past couple years due to draft position but we have quietly been getting good value for where we have been drafting.

The Blazers will hopefully begin to see a couple prospects per season join the club starting next season. As the influx of young talent begins to join the dead money will be dropping off the books at the same time. Also Montreal has one of the original stadiums in the league and plans is under way to build a brand new stadium in Montreal with the goal of being debt free when purchasing within the next few seasons and virtually having no maintenance expenses for the next decade.

Lets be honest being the GM of the worst team in baseball is frustrating and at times embarrassing and even worse opens the door for criticism. Could I make a few moves that improves this team? Sure there is definitely areas I could improve immediately but what would it get me another 5-6 wins? Sometimes doing little is the best thing a general manager can do and I believe that is what I need to do. I have kept my young talent so nobody can say I have tanked but I believe a slow purging is necessary for the long term.

I am very excited about our future and here is why

1. We are turning a profit
2. We have dead money coming off
3. Young talent is on the way
4. A new stadium is coming to increase attendance and revenue and will drop maintenance fees
5. As we begin to improve, our draft position will improve and allow us to add elite talent as we are rising

I want my budget to increase but I must turn him a profit in order for this to happen. As we target 2041 with many of these things listed above we have high expectations that ownership will increase our budget once again. No we have not reached the bottom yet and we might fall below the BBA cap at some point but I believe we won't be there long. Even with having the worst record in baseball my owners mood is satisfied and I believe thats because I am turning him a profit. I don't believe you need to turn a profit every season but you better have a championship caliber team to justify losing money.

I am not an accountant and making money don't excite me but winning games is what excites me. The best way to make money is not necessarily spending but rather winning games. Winning makes the fans show up and the revenue begins to blossom. As the revenue increases the ability to spend is also increases. I can't wait until the day arrives that I am battling that 110 mill cap and fighting to stay under without sacrificing wins. Having payrolls under 80 million is not my goal but unfortunately sometimes its necessary when looking long term.

I truly believe remaining fiscally responsible during this tough period in Montreal will give us the flexibility to compete in a few seasons. The fans don't want to hear about profits as a matter of fact they believe if your profiting your not trying. There is a plan here in Montreal and trust me my patience is running thin and I am tired of losing and writing team news on this dumpster fire is tough. But I tell myself everyday to just trust the process and believe long term things will get better and I wanted to share my optimism with everyone despite my 23-53 record.

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Re: Montreal financial update 39.8

Post by RonCo » Thu Jul 25, 2019 11:23 am

Bold and brave statement from the Montreal front office.
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Re: Montreal financial update 39.8

Post by indiansfan » Thu Jul 25, 2019 11:51 am

The new stadium will give you a nice boost. My fan interest really took off along with $ after I built one.
Kevin

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