With the Rams up for sale there is a lot of interest in who will become the next owner of the franchise.  Dave Checketts has already announced that he is trying to put together a group to buy the Rams from the Rosenbloom family.  As I stated in a previous article, by himself he cannot purchase the franchise without having someone else with more significant wealth than Checketts come and join him in the effort.  One name to keep an eye on is conservative talk show pundit Rush Limbaugh.

Limbaugh's net worth is not known because he is not tied to any publicly owned company and does not have to report his income.  But what is known is that he has made over $300 million dollars in salary and bonuses in the past decade alone.  It is believed that Limbaugh is close to, if not, being a billionaire.  That certainly puts him into the ownership ballpark.   As far what cash he has on hand it is obviously not known, but it is believed that it will take a minimum of $250 million cash and some financing to make the offer for the Rams.

When Georgia Frontiere passed away and the team was rumored to be for sale at that time, Limbaugh did express interest in owning an NFL franchise.  In an article from the St. Louis Business Journal Limbaugh was quoted as saying "The Rams would be a great team to have.  I have a lot of friends in ownership of the NFL, and my desire to get involved has not been a secret."

Limbaugh does have some local ties, being born in Cape Giradeau and he has a cousin who presides over the federal courts in downtown St. Louis.   So Limbaugh has the ties, he has the interest and he reportedly has the money.  So it is a possibility that he could be part of the Checketts group.  What would it mean if Limbaugh would become the point man and would take over as the Rams owner?

Because he is such a politically charged figure I will state where I am coming  from, politically, so no one can read anything more into this than what I am saying.  My views are pretty different than Rush's.  I would say we differ on 80-90% of what he espouses every day on the airwaves.  I believe that he is not good for this country, in that he would much rather be right than do what is right for this country.  But this is the United States and as far as I am concerned he has every right to say whatever he wants.  He is clearly a great infotainer and is vastly successful at what he does.  I know there would be a segment of the population who would swear off the Rams forever if he became the owner, but even though I disagree with his views I would not necessarily not be happy with him as owner of the Rams.

The most important thing that I want to see out of any owner that comes in is to first stabilize the franchise and keep the team in St. Louis.  Second I want to see that the new owner wants to do everything in his power to make the team a success on the field.  That is it.  I believe that is all you can ask for out of any ownership group.   If Rush wants to do those two things and buy the Rams then I will be behind him.

There are obviously a few obstacles in the way if that is the path we are headed down.  First I don't know how comfortable the NFL is with Limbaugh after the ugly incident with Limbaugh and Donovan McNabb on ESPN.  They may not want an owner that is that controversial.  He could become Mark Cuban times a thousand and I don't know if the other NFL owners would want that.   Second, I don't know if the Rosenblooms would want to sell the franchise to someone like Limbaugh.  I don't know their political beliefs but trust me when I say that the selling of the Rams is very personal to Chip and Lucia.  They have to make a business decision, but they do want to make sure the franchise grows and honors their late mother.  I also don't know what Stan Kroenke would have to say about it, because he does have veto power on any ownership change.

Being an owner of a professional sports team does not mean you are immune from the political arena.  George Bush once owned the Texas Rangers.   Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt has been a big contributor to Bush and the Republican party through the years.  Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney was a huge supporter for Barack Obama and has been named as an ambassador to Ireland because of his support.  I suspect there are a few Steelers fans who aren't Obama fans.  I know there are a few Cardinals fans who weren't Bush fans.  Just because you support a team doesn't mean you have to agree with ownership's political views.  I actually believe that Limbaugh could become a good owner for the Rams.  If he wants to keep the team here and put a winner out on the field I would pledge my support for Limbaugh no matter what my political beliefs are. 

Tim Klutsarits is an Examiner from St. Louis. You can see Tim's articles on Tim's Home Page.