This isnt going to be some technical, business oriented post, it's just some general numbers and thinking about outloud...

I just dont see how paying Shea Weber, one roster player, 26 million in a calender year and the Predators generating just 26 million in ticket revenue all last season, how that is a sustainable business model. And that was with Weber and Suter on the team and the stadium being mostly filled with fans coming out to see a very solid team. And still 26 million. Total. The same they're giving Weber in a year.

The Preds have lost a lot of money in major categories every since 05-06 except for one season - http://mobilwi.typepad.com/.a/6a0120a6dde087970b017743797ca9970d-pi

Grant it. This isnt the whole picture, but those kinds of big losses dont bode well.

Brett Wilson and those guys didnt get rich by being dumb. Once the egos fade out of the question, if the Predators franchise doesnt start churning out some solid profits, those guys are going to eventually get tired of dipping into their own personal pockets to sustain it.

If the Predators can prove me wrong, by all means do it, another successful franchise makes the NHL stronger, but I just dont see how the financial numbers based on recent history are going to work out for them. The owners spending personal money is all well and good, but at some point that franchise has to start making serious money on its own, right now all them matching the offer sheet to me seems is an appeasement and desperate act to keep the fans.

Which is fine for the present, I dont know how that works out for the future overall.

I'm more curious than anything else to see where they go from here. They had a winning formula, it wasnt making them money, but the team was good. Now they've changed that and I'm trying to see how keeping Weber is going to make them more money... when they already had him and they werent making money.... and now they're going to be paying him way more salary. How does this make sense for them?

Even if the ownership structure changes and how much they're personally willing to spend, that doesnt change the major revenues/profits/costs numbers, the owners are just going to be cool with constantly losing money in those major categories combined every year? And now they're paying that Weber contract on top of the franchise losses? Again how is this working out longterm?

Honestly I'm not even trying to be negative towards the predators here, I'm just flat out curious, how does this work for them? I know they have other sources of revenue, but offsetting average losses of 7 million in major categories and now paying Weber's deal, at some point that franchise has to make some decent kind of money without the owners opening their wallets to be worth it to the owners doesnt it? Or do they just jack ticket prices through the roof starting next season and hope everyone keeps showing up? I dont get it.

That Brett Wilson guy is supposedly a billionaire right? Maybe he just doesn't care and is willing to keep putting his own money out, I dont know guess thats it. Also on that income statement they do have a lot subsides supporting them, of course thats only getting them back to just barely breakeven the past couple years.

I dont know I guess only time will tell.