Until John Spanos is Gone, Nothing Will Ever Change - Locked By Fleet - John LIstened

[Trumpet Man]

I did a little more digging and sister Alexis stated if sister Dea Spanos Berberian wants out, the rest of the family (3) will buy her out. Interesting twist but it does not answer the question why the trust is insolvent and $22 million short in obligations if she stays on as an owner. The Dea Spanos probate case was "stayed" until the two arbitration cases are heard. One case is in the NFL's arbitration process and the non-Chargers related Trust matters are being handled outside of the NFL.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/3...-statement.pdf

STATEMENT OF ALEXIS SPANOS RUHL, MICHAEL SPANOS AND DEAN SPANOS April 1, 2021

Our parents, Alex and Faye, wanted the Chargers to be part of the Spanos Family for generations to come. For the three of us the Chargers is one of our family’s most important legacies, just as it was for our parents. Unfortunately, our sister Dea seems to have a different and misguided personal agenda. If Dea no longer wishes to be part of this family legacy, the three of us stand ready to purchase her share of the franchise, as our agreements give us the right to do. In the meanwhile, the operations of the Chargers will be entirely unaffected by this matter, which relates only to the 36 percent share of the team that was owned by our parents. The three of us are entitled to three-fourths of that 36 percent share in any event, and under no circumstances will this situation impact control of the franchise. The three of us will remain firmly united as we seek to fulfill our parents’ wishes to make every decision in the best interests of the Los Angeles Chargers.

[Wrbanwal]

I did a little more digging and sister Alexis stated if sister Dea Spanos Berberian wants out, the rest of the family (3) will buy her out. Interesting twist but it does not answer the question why the trust is insolvent and $22 million short in obligations if she stays on as an owner. The Dea Spanos probate case was "stayed" until the two arbitration cases are heard. One case is in the NFL's arbitration process and the non-Chargers related Trust matters are being handled outside of the NFL.

https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/3...-statement.pdf

STATEMENT OF ALEXIS SPANOS RUHL, MICHAEL SPANOS AND DEAN SPANOS April 1, 2021

Our parents, Alex and Faye, wanted the Chargers to be part of the Spanos Family for generations to come. For the three of us the Chargers is one of our family’s most important legacies, just as it was for our parents. Unfortunately, our sister Dea seems to have a different and misguided personal agenda. If Dea no longer wishes to be part of this family legacy, the three of us stand ready to purchase her share of the franchise, as our agreements give us the right to do. In the meanwhile, the operations of the Chargers will be entirely unaffected by this matter, which relates only to the 36 percent share of the team that was owned by our parents. The three of us are entitled to three-fourths of that 36 percent share in any event, and under no circumstances will this situation impact control of the franchise. The three of us will remain firmly united as we seek to fulfill our parents’ wishes to make every decision in the best interests of the three of us.

Fixed it. FUdean

[Trumpet Man]

Fixed it. FUdean

LOL

:larry:

Hey Ex-Bolt fan gramps I agree.

[Tomdutchy]

Lynn is the least credible but you cant argue where our problem lies.

https://youtu.be/xctc8Ki7HKs

[Retired Football Fan]

I laugh when Lynn says that the Chargers are a crappy franchise. He says that the owner's priorities aren't right. He's such a moron. These very facts are the reason he was hired as a head coach in the first place. No serious owner would have allowed Lynn to be the coach of their team. The Spanos clan is not serious

[Rugger05]

I still stand with what I said when I started this post this time last year.

[Bolt4Knob]

I still stand with what I said when I started this post this time last year.

Well I think it starts with anybody named Spanos in the organization. If Dean truly wanted to win there would be nobody named Spanos in any really serious role and he would just sign the checks and sit in the owners box looking bored and disinterested like he always does.

Dean Spanos is the biggest problem with the Chargers. He is the least competent owner in the NFL. And that includes Mark Davis

I say this about Dean and I will keep saying it: he couldn't open a Water/Ice station in Death Valley in the middle of summer and make money. He is that incompetent.

[jubei]

please sister spanos (Deanna?)...force the team to sell with that litigation going on. hopefully she unearths some damning evidence that deano is doing shady shit and is forced to sell so his kids dont go to prison and can live off inheritance and not have to go sell water and ice cream.

[richpjr]

please sister spanos (Deanna?)...force the team to sell with that litigation going on. hopefully she unearths some damning evidence that deano is doing shady shit and is forced to sell so his kids dont go to prison and can live off inheritance and not have to go sell water and ice cream.

I think that ship has sailed - she is now trying to sell her 24% ownership of the team and the rest of the Spanii have the right of first refusal on any offer.

[Duck of Death]

LOL such suckers we are, falling for this shit every year. Shame on us, really.

I’ve always maintained that it’s impossible to know for certain how well a GM is performing, given how much we don’t know about the inner workings. But when we see the same shortcomings time after time, no matter who is at GM, then it becomes obvious. I see 2 likely reasons why the Spanos family has struggled so much as NFL owners. Those reasons center around money and meddling:

1. Money Reason

Since moving to LA, they’ve spent much closer to the cap than they did in San Diego, so that is a good thing. But that is publicized and regulated by the NFL. Different story for staff. We know the Spanos’ are among the least wealthiest owners in the NFL. To be clear, this is not a slight and I would further add that this is no reason to disparage them. The Rooney family have been quite successful despite possessing lower net worth compared to most others in the NFL. That said I do wonder how much the Spanos’ rumored lack of cash liquidity presents challenges for them. Because one phrase keeps coming to mind when I observe the team’s tendencies - “sunk cost fallacy”. Let me explain.

Sunk cost fallacy - the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

How so?

Hanging on to underperforming coaches

• Under Spanos, no Chargers HC has ever been fired mid season. And most complete a majority of their contracts before being cut. Granted, firing a coach mid season (or mid contract) is expensive and never ideal. But such is the cost of doing business in the NFL sometimes. The Chargers avoid these costs like their very lives depended on it. Saving money is clearly their top priority.

• All of their HC hires appear to have been “economical’ hires, and not necessarily “best man for the job” hires. The last 3 have all been rookies, and among the lowest salaries in the NFL. Norv had experience, but with a career losing record, he was also inexpensive. And he spent 6 seasons mostly underperforming, despite universally recognized top level talent.

• If they’re this frugal with head coaches, what can we assume about staff, position coaches, scouts, trainers etc?? I get that most incoming HCs get to pick their staff, but what we don’t know is how many candidates decline or are vetoed by upper management.

Hanging on to underperforming players

• Most were stunned that they traded JC Jax. But there’s one thing they won’t tolerate and that’s insubordination. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But beyond that, the Chargers have historically held on to “projects” for longer than average. While there are plenty of examples of fruitless projects taking up space on the current roster, I am reminded of two older instances - Craig Buster Davis and Larry English. Did you realize that both stuck around for 4 and 5 years, respectively?? That is absolutely incredible. And there are so many more examples, it’s actually quite mind-boggling (Craig Mager - 4 yrs, Kyle Emanuel - 4 yrs, Qberry - 4 yrs, Tourek Williams - 4 yrs, just to name a few). Granted, some may not have been all about saving money, but there sure does seem to be a signature sunk cost fallacy mentality going on there. After all, onboarding new employees is always expensive business I suppose. So when we wonder about McKitty, Jaimes, etc, we need to understand that this is nothing new. And this is not the GM, it’s clearly coming from above.

2. Meddling Reason

• Many of us saw Scott Kaplan’s interview with Slauson and Woodhead. But even acknowledging Kaplan’s obvious axe to grind, is anyone really surprised at what Slauson said? Also, Danny Woodhead is a class act - at no point did he deny that upper management wanted certain players starting due to price, rather than merit.

• Before the draft, everyone and their mother had concerns about finding a TE who could block. So did Kellen Moore look at McKitty’s body of work and say, “yeah, he’ll do fine.”? Or maybe he was told that this is what you will have to work with. I don’t know but I find it hard to believe that he would think he’d be fine running 12 & 13 personnel with these guys. Unfortunately KM doesn’t strike me as the type to demand anything.

• Before the draft, everyone had concerns about Linsley’s lack of durability. Granted his unfortunate condition came as a surprise, but the fact remains that he isn’t available. This was the same issue with Bulaga, Pouncey, etc. If the fans knew before the season, how did it come as a surprise to management when these players became unavailable during the season?

• Manning fiasco - what Archie did for his son Eli really should be applauded. He was well aware of how the Chargers organization was run. His gamble certainly paid off as Eli won two super bowls in NY. Rivers was a better QB, but his chances at postseason glory went down the tubes when Marty was canned for insubordination.

Soooo, if I were the Bobs from Office Space, here are the questions I would ask:

• How much do each of the 4 or 5 Spanos kids get paid in salary? How much is left over in the budget for everything else?

• How much budget does the HC get for hiring his staff? And what is the league average? Are there any other requirements, like no strong willed personalities?

• Did you ever pay off that $700 mil relocation fee?

• How much did you borrow for that new practice facility?

• How much do you really want to win? Because most winners are actually assholes that aren’t afraid to ask tough questions, while demanding what they need to succeed. I see no assholes on this team.

Apologies for the long winded post.

[Bolt4Knob]

LOL such suckers we are, falling for this shit every year. Shame on us, really.

I’ve always maintained that it’s impossible to know for certain how well a GM is performing, given how much we don’t know about the inner workings. But when we see the same shortcomings time after time, no matter who is at GM, then it becomes obvious. I see 2 likely reasons why the Spanos family has struggled so much as NFL owners. Those reasons center around money and meddling:

1. Money Reason

Since moving to LA, they’ve spent much closer to the cap than they did in San Diego, so that is a good thing. But that is publicized and regulated by the NFL. Different story for staff. We know the Spanos’ are among the least wealthiest owners in the NFL. To be clear, this is not a slight and I would further add that this is no reason to disparage them. The Rooney family have been quite successful despite possessing lower net worth compared to most others in the NFL. That said I do wonder how much the Spanos’ rumored lack of cash liquidity presents challenges for them. Because one phrase keeps coming to mind when I observe the team’s tendencies - “sunk cost fallacy”. Let me explain.

Sunk cost fallacy - the phenomenon whereby a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or course of action because they have invested heavily in it, even when it is clear that abandonment would be more beneficial.

How so?

Hanging on to underperforming coaches

• Under Spanos, no Chargers HC has ever been fired mid season. And most complete a majority of their contracts before being cut. Granted, firing a coach mid season (or mid contract) is expensive and never ideal. But such is the cost of doing business in the NFL sometimes. The Chargers avoid these costs like their very lives depended on it. Saving money is clearly their top priority.

• All of their HC hires appear to have been “economical’ hires, and not necessarily “best man for the job” hires. The last 3 have all been rookies, and among the lowest salaries in the NFL. Norv had experience, but with a career losing record, he was also inexpensive. And he spent 6 seasons mostly underperforming, despite universally recognized top level talent.

• If they’re this frugal with head coaches, what can we assume about staff, position coaches, scouts, trainers etc?? I get that most incoming HCs get to pick their staff, but what we don’t know is how many candidates decline or are vetoed by upper management.

Hanging on to underperforming players

• Most were stunned that they traded JC Jax. But there’s one thing they won’t tolerate and that’s insubordination. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But beyond that, the Chargers have historically held on to “projects” for longer than average. While there are plenty of examples of fruitless projects taking up space on the current roster, I am reminded of two older instances - Craig Buster Davis and Larry English. Did you realize that both stuck around for 4 and 5 years, respectively?? That is absolutely incredible. And there are so many more examples, it’s actually quite mind-boggling (Craig Mager - 4 yrs, Kyle Emanuel - 4 yrs, Qberry - 4 yrs, Tourek Williams - 4 yrs, just to name a few). Granted, some may not have been all about saving money, but there sure does seem to be a signature sunk cost fallacy mentality going on there. After all, onboarding new employees is always expensive business I suppose. So when we wonder about McKitty, Jaimes, etc, we need to understand that this is nothing new. And this is not the GM, it’s clearly coming from above.

2. Meddling Reason

• Many of us saw Scott Kaplan’s interview with Slauson and Woodhead. But even acknowledging Kaplan’s obvious axe to grind, is anyone really surprised at what Slauson said? Also, Danny Woodhead is a class act - at no point did he deny that upper management wanted certain players starting due to price, rather than merit.

• Before the draft, everyone and their mother had concerns about finding a TE who could block. So did Kellen Moore look at McKitty’s body of work and say, “yeah, he’ll do fine.”? Or maybe he was told that this is what you will have to work with. I don’t know but I find it hard to believe that he would think he’d be fine running 12 & 13 personnel with these guys. Unfortunately KM doesn’t strike me as the type to demand anything.

• Before the draft, everyone had concerns about Linsley’s lack of durability. Granted his unfortunate condition came as a surprise, but the fact remains that he isn’t available. This was the same issue with Bulaga, Pouncey, etc. If the fans knew before the season, how did it come as a surprise to management when these players became unavailable during the season?

• Manning fiasco - what Archie did for his son Eli really should be applauded. He was well aware of how the Chargers organization was run. His gamble certainly paid off as Eli won two super bowls in NY. Rivers was a better QB, but his chances at postseason glory went down the tubes when Marty was canned for insubordination.

Soooo, if I were the Bobs from Office Space, here are the questions I would ask:

• How much do each of the 4 or 5 Spanos kids get paid in salary? How much is left over in the budget for everything else?

• How much budget does the HC get for hiring his staff? And what is the league average? Are there any other requirements, like no strong willed personalities?

• Did you ever pay off that $700 mil relocation fee?

• How much did you borrow for that new practice facility?

• How much do you really want to win? Because most winners are actually assholes that aren’t afraid to ask tough questions, while demanding what they need to succeed. I see no assholes on this team.

Apologies for the long winded post.

Excellent post and spot on

A couple of things stand out

1) sunk fallacy cost. almost like "we drafted the player, we are keeping them until we can't"

2) roster building - you bring up good names in Pouncey and Linsley -- we have all seen what happens when Linsley is out - and yet Will Clapp was brought back

The Spanii are too stupid to see they should just sell, take their profit and be done with it

[Riverwalk]

The Spanii are too stupid to see they should just sell, take their profit and be done with it

I don’t think Deans two sons, A.G. And John have worked anywhere but the Chargers.

And the only job they could get for another NFL team is Gatoraide squirter.

So they won’t sell.