BATRK Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc - Class C

$BATRK $BATRA Claude said, always remember what Hannibal Lecter said to Clarice Starling in the movie version of the Silence of the Lambs. So how did Clarice know that Malone will follow Breach's letter?

$BATRK $BATRA Claude said he's surprised the price didn't move more. "If sophisticated M&A people reading the letter do understand the merger exception to the ROFR, then Breach's recommendation is much more potent than it initially appears."

$BATRK $BATRA So what about the NFL and 162(m)? "Claude said it's very easy for Congress to tax all MLB teams even if private under 162(m) without touching the NFL/NBA, etc.: "Flood v. Kuhn gives Congress a very solid factual/legal basis for saying MLB is different from the NFL and can be taxed differently. The Supreme Court was unusually explicit: MLB's antitrust exemption is an “aberration” confined to baseball, while football and other professional sports are not similarly exempt. So if Congress wanted to construct a policy rationale like: “MLB receives a unique federal privilege that the NFL does not. Therefore, Congress is entitled to impose a unique federal tax obligation on MLB,” there is a preexisting Supreme Court-recognized distinction sitting right there in front of them." So Manfred could be telling the Braves: "You don't want to be the poster child for taxing all MLB teams while the NFL is buying more superyachts. Don't forget FLOOD V. KUHN!"

$BATRK $BATRA Newsy buzz about Apollo private equity stake valuing MLB Yankees at $9B - 12B. Meanwhile in Atlanta, publicly-traded Braves remain at market cap about $3.3B (includes $1.3B real estate).