Braves continue to remake their corporate structure with big changes at the top

In an SEC filing on August 21, Liberty Media’s Chairman, John Malone, transferred “sole and exclusive” voting rights in certain matters for 887,079 “Series B” shares (44% of the outstanding shares) to Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk.   

Tim Tucker from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution stated, "…under the new arrangement as “almost all” of the Liberty executives …including Liberty CEO Greg Maffei, stepped down from their Braves roles …(and) yielded to members of the Braves’ operating team, with McGuirk replacing Maffei as president and CEO of Atlanta Braves Holdings.

Chairman Terry McGuirk takes control of Atlanta Braves Holdings

If you want to know what it took to get this done, read Tucker’s story linked above. However, below are the most important takeaways for fans.

McGuirk has been with the Braves since Ted Turner owned the team, but he now has complete control over how the team and The Battery operate, just like any team owner. He spoke about that to Tucker.

McGuirk stated that these changes "further empower our Atlanta-based management team to lead this organization and make decisions that we believe will create value for our shareholders…The greatest way we can drive value is by winning…and the playoffs are the goal (each year)...It’s just part of our DNA. We have something very special that we have built here.”

Rumors about a coming sale of the team have swirled since Liberty took over. As a publicly traded company, any sale means a transfer of the majority share of stock. McGuirk now controls that stock, and should Malone want to transfer shares. McGuirk has first refusal.

McGuirk controls the finances and decides how money will be spent. No one outside the Atlanta-based leadership has any say in the team’s finances. McGuirk, Braves CEO Derek Schiller, and Braves chief financial officer Jill Robinson conduct the quarterly financial calls.

The plan is to provide Alex Anthopoulos with "adequate payroll to actually put a team on the field that has the capability of winning the World Series." The team has reached the second luxury tax tier for the last two years and expects to increase payroll again in 2025. Atlanta has already found ways to start payroll in certain areas to prepare for that increase, and it seems they have permission to spend however they deem necessary without a middleman.

Thanks to John Malone’s efforts to acquire the Atlanta Braves from Time Warner when it was sinking like a rock, the Braves' payroll now increases yearly; they play in one of the league's finest ballparks and have a funding stream from the highly successful Battery Atlanta.

Now, he’s given the fans something they’ve begged for since Liberty took over - a local owner who lives and breathes Braves baseball. Fans owe John Malone a huge thank you for all of those things.

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