Proposed Rams buyer has had IRS issues

[Varg6]

Per Mike Florio...

The mere fact that Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez have found a buyer for 60 percent of the franchise doesn't mean that the proposed buyer ultimately will acquire control of the team. Ultimately, 24 of the league's 32 owners must approve the transaction.

And there's already cause for concern regarding the viability of Shahid Khan's bid.

Howard Balzer of GlobeDemocrat.com reports that Khan and his wife have been investigated by the IRS for allegedly sheltering "hundreds of millions of dollars" from income taxes.

Last year, Khan and his wife reportedly paid roughly $68 million to resolve the claims, and the couple has since filed two lawsuits claiming that they were misled by financial advisers regarding the tax shelters.

As Balzer points out, legal proceedings in the cases will occur on March 23, just as owners are convening in Orlando for their annual meetings.

The impact, if any, on the approval process isn't known. But it's safe to say that the league will look closely into the situation before giving the green light to the transaction.

----

[Varg6]

UPDATE BY BERNIE (stltoday)


* What about Khan’s dispute with the Internal Revenue Service? Will that be an issue? Obviously, this will draw scrutiny from the NFL’s finance committee. And here is a link to the latest news story on the Kahn/IRS dispute. A couple of things on this: a dispute with the IRS is hardly unusual. This isn’t a criminal complaint; it’s a disagreement on the validity of tax shelters and Khan and his wife paid the IRS the requested amount, $68 million. And now the Khans are challenging the IRS to get the money back. Also, Goldman-Sachs, which handled the sale for Rosenbloom-Rodriguez, thoroughly vetted Khan on this and other financial issues. Goldman-Sachs wouldn’t have forwarded Khan’s bid to the Rams unless the broker had reasonable confidence in Khan’s status and Khan’s prospects for being approved by the NFL. But obviously, questions will be asked.

[Bralidore(RAMMODE)]

who doesn't have issues with the IRS?

[AtlantaRamFan]

$68 million? Geez..I guess we know who paid for most of that stimulus package In all seriousness I don't think this will be an issue but I'm far from an expert on this. I just imagine that all the other owners (who are rich themselves) won't look down on someone who wanted to keep their money from the IRS.

[HUbison]

This is probably a good thing for him.

In a room of 32 billionaires, I bet you can't find 24 that do NOT have IRS issues.

[Nick]

Also, Goldman-Sachs, which handled the sale for Rosenbloom-Rodriguez, thoroughly vetted Khan on this and other financial issues. Goldman-Sachs wouldn’t have forwarded Khan’s bid to the Rams unless the broker had reasonable confidence in Khan’s status and Khan’s prospects for being approved by the NFL.

Well, if Goldman-Sachs vouched for his financial status and security, that's good enough for me!

Kidding aside, I doubt this is a serious impediment for him in the approval process.

[UtterBlitz]

What is the approval process for a new owner? Does the NFL get to hit "the big red button" so to speak and jettison a potential owner?

[r8rh8rmike]

Talk about a non-issue........

[UtterBlitz]

Talk about a non-issue........

I disagree. I would think financial position and good standing with the government would be important. It takes a lot of money to run these teams, and you would want an owner to have it together financially.

[r8rh8rmike]

I disagree. I would think financial position and good standing with the government would be important. It takes a lot of money to run these teams, and you would want an owner to have it together financially.

It would be one thing if the Kahn's were caught cheating, but they were not. From everything I have read, the IRS let them resolve the issue, filing absolutely no criminal changes, largely due to the fact that financial advisors were to blame for the whole mess. Financial advisors they are now suing. Maybe something more comes to light, but at this point, again, IMO a non-issue.

[MoonJoe]

Although I agree with most that someone with the kind of money Khan has , normally would have issues with the IRS, he still has to pass the test of the other owners. That being said, this league is based on money and he has it, so I don't see an issue there either!

[TheBritishRam]

What is the approval process for a new owner? Does the NFL get to hit "the big red button" so to speak and jettison a potential owner?

75 per cent of the NFL owners have to approve the takeover before someone can become an NFL owner. I think they'll address this at the Owners' Meeting in late March.

[UtterBlitz]

75 per cent of the NFL owners have to approve the takeover before someone can become an NFL owner. I think they'll address this at the Owners' Meeting in late March.

Thanks. I was wondering what sort of tests they had set up, but there are no tests.

[Trevor]

Everybody hates the IRS especially rich people, the owners will approve!

[laram0]

What is the approval process for a new owner? Does the NFL get to hit "the big red button" so to speak and jettison a potential owner?

This is a great question. Do the other owners request a copy of the new owners business plan?