Various factions of the Raptors‘ ownership group held divergent opinions on how to handle the contract negotiations with team president Masai Ujiri earlier this year, according to a fascinating report from Christine Dobby and Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. Ujiri finalized a new long-term extension with the franchise in August.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the Raptors, is controlled in part by Rogers Communications (37.5%), BCE (Bell) Inc. (37.5%), and team governor Larry Tanenbaum‘s Kilmer Group (25%).
Edward Rogers – the former chair of Rogers Communications who has recently been embroiled in a public battle for control of the company with his mother and siblings – opposed the terms of the deal that Tanenbaum and Bell wanted to offer Ujiri, expressing that the compensation was too high and that general manager Bobby Webster was capable of taking over control of the team’s front office if necessary, sources tell The Toronto Star.
According to Dobby and Smith, Rogers explicitly told Ujiri he didn’t think he was worth the salary the rest of the Raptors’ ownership group wanted to offer him, prompting MLSE executives to go into “damage-control mode” and to tell Ujiri to ignore those comments.
Rogers insisted he would only agree to the deal if a dozen terms were met, including 11 relating to Ujiri’s compensation and one that would see Rogers Communications take its 37.5% stake in MLSE and combine it with the Toronto Blue Jays to create a separate company. However, because Tanenbaum holds the title of Raptors governor, he had the authority to make the final call on personnel issues without Rogers’ sign-off, which is the path he chose to complete Ujiri’s deal, according to The Star.
Rogers, who was “furious,” reached out to commissioner Adam Silver, but was told by two league officials that Tanenbaum had the right to make that decision, per Dobby and Smith.
Asked on Sunday about the negotiations, Rogers said he has the “utmost respect” for Ujiri and is happy he remains in his current role.
“Masai understands better than anyone that negotiations test both sides,” Rogers said. “The best deals involve compromise and leave all parties feeling like winners.”
According to Dobby and Smith, Ujiri’s contract with the Raptors includes a $15MM annual salary, with the ability to earn more in incentive pay if the value of the franchise continues to increase. Ujiri also received the new title of vice chairman to go along with his president title.
A league source tells The Toronto Star that another NBA team offered Ujiri a 3% ownership stake, with a salary higher than the $15MM per year he received from the Raptors. Soccer teams in the English Premier League also expressed interest in Ujiri, per Dobby and Smith.
I don’t know the average salaries of other execs around the league but off the cuff $15M seems way too high. With Kawhi gone the Raptors are finished for the foreseeable future. Drake at courtside can’t save them
15 million in U.S. dollars too. Too much money but this is a seriously big franchise. try and get reasonable priced tickets for this team. no way.
….credit for the Scottie Barnes pick though.
OJ and Siakam paid way too much for them. I like the Trent Jr. trade and the Lowry trade especially if he can unload Dragic..
OG is severely underpaid. Mikal Bridges just got more, and he’s a severely less talented and productive player than OG is. Frankly that contract is a steal. Siakam is at market value. 2nd option on a championship winning team.
OG and Siakam have only two problems. they are slow and they can’t shoot. I hear they are excellent soccer players though. as far as Bridges vs OG. Gee I just looked at early NBA stats and Bridges is near the top in points and steals but no sign of OG
OG is asked to guard 1-5 at any time and mainly against the top offensive guy. He’s also the #1 option on offense until Siakam is back. Bridges is a nice player but no GM would take him over OG.
Lol, OG is not more talented than bridges. They are arguably very similar players. Bridges has been the slightly better offensive and overall value player while OG has been slightly better defensively. Advanced stats favor bridges as well. Both are very talented young players.
I believe that 15 mm / year is about what Phil Jackson (first time TP) was paid by the Knicks. A unique situation at the time, but that was 7-8 years ago.
I’m sure it’s still a bunch for regular FO chief. They, despite what some people believe, make only a handful of significant decisions a year. The guy has proven to be a high end talent evaluator. Although, like with everyone else, he has his share of misses. Never built a team from scratch, though really hasn’t had the chance up until now. Another reminder that NBA teams are still largely vanity assets.
I’m fine with Masai’s salary. He delivered a championship. Not my money anyways…
Kawhi did that moreso than Ujiri. Dude played out of his mind and the team hasn’t won without him.
Masai traded every Raptor fan’s favourite player for Kawhi, he deserves credit. He also surrounded Kawhi with a ton of talent.
Raptors won the following year after Kawhi then was mediocre before tanking last year; so Raptor winning is not all about Kawhi. And it was Ujiri who stuck his neck out to get him. Turning out that Kawhi may need TOR more than TOR needs Kawhi… but it is mutual.
While $15M is an enormous salary, it is not out of line with the top execs in the NBA. Pat Riley was at $11M five years ago. Ujiri was also being recruited by a number of the big franchises and they were probably offering more than he ended up getting to pry him out of TO. Also, given the salaries in the NBA, having a top 3 exec being paid like an average-good player adds more value to the team over time than a 15/5/5 type of player will (and doesn’t count against the salary cap). The recruiting, signing, drafting and trading that Ujiri has done is way above average. The Raps were in the 4/5 playoff slot last year before COVID ravaged the team. Other than that collapse, they have been a formidable team consistently for a long time now and a lot of that is directly due to Ujiri’s work.
Ed Rogers is such a tool.
Clearly one must agree with Mr Rogers… I mean Ujiri is way too overrated & seemingly now way too overpaid, that is TOR for you!
It must be said that the Rogers products here in Toronto are over-priced and of poor quality.
greedy bumbling fool eddie about to get forced out of the company his dad founded too lol
Lol @ Rogers having a list of 12 demands when he has no ability to veto the signing and tanenbaum just ignoring him. That’s absolutely hilarious. It got even better when he threw a tantrum and reported it to the commissioner who didn’t even answer him and instead had league officials tell him that he has no authority to do anything about the signing.
They better remove this guy soon, he seems absolutely clueless.
It’s worse than that, it’s a late midlife crisis.
He woke up and realized if he doesn’t have real power to do what he likes, then he is nothing. Eventually he will come to terms with the idea that he was never anything.
I demand they go back to purple. “The North” and the up arrow can stay though.
lol: “Last week, Rogers was removed as chair of the company after details emerged about a plan he led to oust the company’s CEO… [who got word of the attempt when the new choice] reportedly butt-dialled him while discussing the plot with someone else.”
This source said Rogers should prevail though. Doesn’t sound like a guy to root for… like many cable operators.