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Report: Thomas Tull interested in purchasing the Pittsburgh Pirates
By Marty Leap
Could the Pittsburgh Pirates soon get a new ownership group? According to a report from FanRag Sports it could potentially happen.
Pittsburgh Pirates’ fans that are fans of owner Bob Nutting are few and far between. Nutting and his group have been the primary owners of the franchise since 2007, and he has been the focus of hatred and disgust form Pirate fans ever since.
The disdain many fans feel for Nutting’s ownership group has grown to all-time highs the past two seasons. This is due to the Pirates posting back-to-back losing seasons after making the postseason in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
The anger with Bob Nutting is not completely his fault. After all, baseball is a sport where small market teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates are set up to fail. Combine this with Pittsburgh not being a great baseball market and ownership is in a tough spot. That said, the Pirates’ and their ownership group should be capable of allowing Neal Huntington to spend an $115-120 million on the team’s payroll each season. If not, they should not be owning a sports franchise.
Now, all of that said, is it possible that the Pirates could get new ownership? While this is something that many people, myself included, never thought would happen on Bob Nutting’s watch it appears possible. According to this FanRag Sports report billionaire Thomas Tull is interested in purchasing the Pittsburgh Pirates.
According to the report:
"However, word continues to persist in sports and entertainment circles that Thomas Tull, former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Legendary Entertainment, has interest in buying the Pirates and might make an offer of $1 billion or more to Nutting."
Thomas Tull is originally from Hamilton, New York, but is a lifelong Pittsburgh sports fan. The ex-CEO of Legendary Entertainment also has an ownership share in the Pittsburgh Steelers. So, sports franchise ownership is not something that is a total unknown to Tull.
This would not be the first time Tull attempted to purchase a Major League Baseball franchise. In 2012 he attempted to purchase the San Diego Padres before a group of San Diego businessmen eventually purchased the team.
There is no denying that if this were to happen Pirate fans would be extremely happy. Bob Nutting is public enemy number one among fans of the Bucs, and a new owner would excite and rejuvenate many people in the fanbase.
Next: The Pirates should decline Wade LeBlanc's option
This is a situation worth monitoring moving forward. Especially if Thomas Tull does indeed make an offer to Bob Nutting. Maybe just maybe the Pittsburgh Pirates will soon be operating under new ownership.