Four of five Rooney brothers sign off on deal to sell Steelers' shares
For the first time, the Pittsburgh Steelers won't be all in the family.
Four of the five Rooney brothers have sold all or part of their shares in the Steelers to an ownership group led by their oldest sibling, Dan, but dominated by business leaders outside the Rooney and McGinley clans that have guided the franchise for 76 years.
"The simplest thing to say is that it's going to be very different. It's no longer our team," said Steelers Vice President Art Rooney Jr., 73, of Mt. Lebanon. "It now belongs to a lot of people who aren't Rooneys."
Patrick, Timothy, John and Art Jr. signed their offer sheets on Monday. Prodded by NFL bylaws banning the ownership of casinos, Patrick and Timothy will divest all of their shares to the new ownership.
With retired Pro Football Hall of Fame owner Dan Rooney, 77, now ambassador to Ireland, day-to-day operations fall to his 56-year-old son, Art Rooney II. Together, they will hold a 30 percent stake in the fabled franchise that's won six Super Bowls.
Rooney Jr., the Steelers' former scouting genius who helped to sculpt the dominant Steel Curtain dynasty teams of the 1970s, will remain a minority investor, as will his brother John, 70.
"I know that I feel different maybe from some of my brothers," said Patrick Rooney, a racetrack owner who has expanded into casino gambling. "I wanted to do something for my estate planning. I'm 70 years old now. I wanted my situation done because at 70, it's no longer a question of 'What if I croak?' It's 'When will I croak?'
"Ultimately, it wasn't about the money. It was planning for my family. The money isn't for me."
The value of the franchise is pegged at about $750 million, once $50 million in business debt is deducted. Dan Rooney previously told the Trib that he and his son will incur about $250 million in debt — $100 million more than the NFL normally allows — and their shares in the Steelers will be used as collateral for a loan orchestrated by PNC Financial Services Group.
"Sure, it's a heckuva lot of debt, but it's a heckuva lot less than other teams have," said Pat Rooney. "We wanted the team to remain in the family, but we knew that the Steelers, on a realistic basis, only could support three Rooneys. We kept ticket prices low for the fans, but that meant that we couldn't support a lot of family on the payroll."
An $840 million cash tender for the team by rabid Steelers fan and hedge fund tycoon Stanley Druckenmiller collapsed in September. Had he not yanked his offer, the Steelers would have been the only team in the NFL with zero debt, according to the league.
The final hurdle for the new ownership group involves the Rooney's cousins, the McGinleys. When reached at his Eckert Seamans law office Downtown, Jack McGinley Jr. was sifting through the tender sheets marked for him and his family to sign.
McGinley Jr., 65, said he and his 86-year-old aunt, Rita McGinley, planned to sell a cut of their holdings, and his siblings also were reviewing the paperwork.
McGinley family meetings are slated throughout the week to finish the process.
"The numbers, they're still being discussed," McGinley Jr. said. "Some of the stock will be sold, and I think there will be more than a token left."
He said the hardest part of the negotiations was realizing that his cousins Pat and Tim Rooney, 71, no longer would be part of a club their Hall of Fame father, Art Rooney Sr., founded 76 years ago.
"They are wonderful, wonderful people," said McGinley Jr.
Once the deal is completed, the remaining Rooney and McGinley investors will share space on the Steelers board with Hall of Fame receiver John Stallworth, Chicago venture capital guru Bruce Rauner, the Varischetti family of Jefferson County, Tennessee truck stop tycoon James Haslam III, Hollywood film producer Thomas Tull and five members of steel magnate Robert A. Paul's family.
"It's been a long and arduous deal. It's a big change for the family, but we've got a real good football team, and we should be good for awhile," said Art Rooney Jr.
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