Derek Jeter is stepping down as general manager of the Miami Marlins and selling his stake in the Major League Baseball franchise, the Hall of Famer announced Monday.
In a statement announcing the move, Jeter, 47, said “the vision for the future of the franchise is different from the one I signed up to lead” when he took over the Marlins.
“Five years ago, we had a vision to transform the Marlins franchise, and as CEO, I was proud to put my name and reputation on the line to make our plan a reality,” Jeter said. “Through hard work, trust and accountability, we have transformed every aspect of the franchise, reshaped the workforce and developed a long-term strategic plan for success. »
Jeter, a New York Yankees icon, held a 4% stake in the team and returned to his role as first manager in 2017. The Marlins finished in fourth place in the National League East Division the year last. The team made the playoffs once during Jeter’s tenure, a wild card in 2020.
The Marlins are worth $990 million, according to Forbes. But that’s down from Sherman’s estimated $1.2 billion haul, which included Jeter, paid for the MLB team in 2017. The team’s valuation fell to $980 million in 2020 before to bounce back from last year.
Marlins principal owner and chairman Bruce Sherman said the club would work as a committee to manage business and baseball operations while searching for Jeter’s successor.
Sherman also said the team is “committed to continuing to invest in the future of the franchise – and we’re committed to building a team that will return to the playoffs and excite Marlins fans and the local community.”
The news came on a big deadline day for MLB. The owners have given the players’ union until Monday to agree to a new working agreement or else Opening Day and potentially other games will be cancelled.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred took a slight break from labor negotiations and thanked Jeter for his time leading the Marlins. In a statement, Manfred called Jeter a “winner on and off the field” and added that he was “a pillar of our game and we look forward to his future contributions to baseball.”
The club has seen dramatic changes during Jeter’s tenure. The Marlins traded franchise player Giancarlo Stanton and his $325 million contract to the Yankees shortly after Jeter took over as CEO of Miami. In November 2020, the Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manager. Ng became the first woman hired to lead baseball operations for an MLB team.
Commercially, the Marlins had few breakthroughs.
Last March, the Marlins reached their first-ever naming rights deal for their 2012-built baseball stadium. Mortgage platform LoanDepot is paying the Marlins a grossed $10 million per year for this asset.
Still, the Marlins have fallen to last in MLB attendance, a spot the club has held since 2018.
The franchise failed to draw at least 1 million fans to the ballpark and only slightly increased its annual revenue — to $222 million from $219 million — between 2017 and 2019. the team in 2020 would have been $96 million, in part due to the sport resuming after the Coronavirus pandemic.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the correct annual revenue figures for the years 2017-20.
