Exploring a seismic deal that could transform the Canadian sports landscape
The Canadian sporting world was rocked by Wednesday’s news that Rogers is set to own at least 75% of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Ltd. by mid-2025.
Bell and Rogers had split 75% control of the sports powerhouse, which includes the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts, Toronto FC, plus Raptors 905 and the Toronto Marlies, as well as venues like Scotiabank Arena, for more than a decade.
Larry Tanenbaum owns 20% of MLSE after recently selling 5% to The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, a Canadian public pension fund.
Reports have said Rogers and Bell had the right to buy out Tanenbaum’s stake in MLSE in 2026. That right presumably would now go to Rogers should the mega deal close next year.
How long have Rogers and Bell been in MLSE together?
In 2011, Canada’s leading telecommunications companies created their first sports shockwave when they agreed to pay a combined $1.32 billion to the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP). The purchase valued MLSE at 2 billion (and outgoing CEO Richard Peddie said at the time that the Pension Plan was leaving money on the table.
Bell had bought into the first iteration of MLSE in 2003 with a 15% stake (OTPP had 58% at the time, TD Capital Group 14%, Tanenbaum’s Kilmer Sports 13%. Bell had exited MLSE by 2009, selling first to Tanenbaum and then to OTPP, before jumping back in with Rogers and Tanenbaum in the 2011 blockbuster.
The bitter telecom rivals have had to work together ever since in an at-times uneasy alliance, often with Tanenbaum playing the role of peacemaker. The highs were championship wins by the Raptors, Toronto FC, Marlies and Argonauts. The flagship Leafs won a single playoff series under the ownership structure, yet remain the most valuable NHL franchise.
What happened today?
Rogers agreed to pay Bell $4.7 billion and likely sped up Tanenbaum’s exit, creating a Toronto sports monopoly in the process. Rogers can now either work with OMERS or other partners long-term, or purchase 100% ownership of MLSE sometime in the next year or two (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment by Rogers, anyone?)
What does this mean for the Maple Leafs?
Hard to say. Edward Rogers III is not known for being much of a sports fan. Don’t expect Mark Cuban-level involvement. Luckily he isn’t Harold Ballard, either. Not a lot should change here with the cash cow. MLSE will spend to the cap and likely will continue to pay up in areas not covered by the cap (like with hiring coaches, trainers, buying fancy equipment, etc.). Team president Brendan Shanahan is nearing the end of his contract and at some point might be required to actually be in charge of a team that wins a few rounds — or not.
What does this mean for the Raptors?
Things probably aren’t as rosy on the basketball end. Rogers reportedly fought a contract extension for Raptors president Masai Ujiri and the two definitely are not pals for many reasons. Rogers is not known as a basketball fan and pulled out of a potential deal to bring the WNBA to Toronto (Tanenbaum eventually got the deal done on his own, with help from limited partners, one of whom is rumoured to be Bell). Tanenbaum helped bring the Raptors to Toronto, even if he didn’t win the initial bid (Tanenbaum was responsible for getting the ball rolling on that front when he sent the NBA a cheque years before asking the league to consider expansion to Toronto). He’s as big a champion for basketball as there is in this country and he’ll soon be gone entirely from the men’s hoops side.
What does this mean for the other teams?
We wonder primarily about the Argonauts and TFC. Tanenbaum was TFC’s chief supporter in MLSE and the franchise has fallen apart since its glory days. All CFL games air exclusively on TSN, so the question must be asked why Rogers would pretend to have any interest in the Argos or the league?
What does this mean for TSN?
TSN, Canada’s original all-sports network, has the right to retain broadcast rights for half of Leafs and Raptors games for 20 years. That’s likely to get the deal approved by regulators (no way it would go through if Rogers would become the sole broadcaster of practically every Toronto team), but this could be a negative for TSN employees and for fans of the network.
That said, Bell CEO Marko Bibic told TSN employees in an internal memo on Wednesday that nothing would change when it comes to programming. He also said BCE is now focused on things like 5G, cloud and enterprise solutions, and fibre, as well as content.
Who is in charge at MLSE?
Keith Pelley took over as MLSE president in April. Pelley seems like the ideal person to be in command, seeing as he was the long-time head of TSN and then was president of Rogers Media. Pelley also was CEO of golf’s European tour, headed Canada’s 2010 Olympic consortium and ran the Argonauts (will that be enough to keep them in the fold?).
“Keith is a dynamic and innovative leader who is firmly committed to building a championship culture at every level in the organization as well as reinforcing MLSE’s pride in its leadership roles in our industry and community,” Tanenbaum said in a statement when Pelley was hired.
What does that mean for the future of sports TV?
The NHL’s Canadian deal with Rogers expires after the 2025-26 season. Edward Rogers III and Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said in a TV spot with Ron MacLean on Wednesday that you could “expect Rogers to be at the (negotiating) table.” Staffieri also said Bell would continue to be able to get regional rights to games at market value, so fans should expect to be able to watch games there for “many years to come.”
MLSE looked into creating its own channel to air all the games under then-president Richard Peddie back in the day and it’s possible they could try to go that route one day, though based on what Stafieri said and the terms of the agreement (TSN keeping Leafs and Raptors games for 20 years), that dark day for fans and members of the media hopefully is nowhere close to happening.
What does it mean for ticket buyers?
Expect to see ticket-bundling options, like Leafs/Raptors/Jays all-in-one packages. Maybe there will be incentives, like buying TFC or Argos ducats to get a deal on Leafs or Raptors tickets. MLSE previously had Leafs and Raptors combos, so it makes sense to bring in the Jays now, too, with Rogers owning all.
Prices definitely won’t go down. As much as Rogers talked Wednesday about winning being a priority and will say that moving forward, this is a public company, first and foremost. Just as Bell did this because its stock was sinking and it wants to maintain its hefty dividend, money speaks loudly on the Rogers front, too.