Derek Jeter, along with Bruce Sherman, hold their first press conference as Miami Marlins owners on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017.
Miami Herald | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Derek Jeter is stepping down as chief executive 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 than the one I signed up to lead,” when he took over the Marlins.
“We had a vision five years ago to turn the Marlins franchise around, and as CEO, I have been 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 transformed every aspect of the franchise, reshaping the workforce, and developing a long-term strategic plan for success.”
Jeter, the New York Yankees icon, took over the team’s top C-suite role in 2017. The Marlins finished in fourth place in the National League East division last year. The team made the postseason once during Jeter’s tenure, a wild card spot in 2020.
The Marlins are worth $990 million, according to Forbes. But that’s a drop from the estimated $1.2 billion Sherman’s group, which included Jeter, paid for the MLB team in 2017. The team’s valuation fell to $980 million in 2020 before rebounding last year.
Marlins chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said the club would work as a committee to run business and baseball operations while searching for Jeter’s replacement.
Sherman also said the team is “committed to keep investing in the future of the franchise — and we are determined to build a team that will return to the postseason and excite Marlins fans and the local community.”
The news came on a big deadline day for MLB. Owners gave the players union until Monday to agree to a new labor deal, or Opening Day and potentially other games would be canceled.
MLB’s commissioner took a slight break from labor negotiations and thanked Jeter for his time running the Marlins. In a statement, Manfred called Jeter “a winner on and off the field,” and added he’s a “pillar of our game and we look forward to his future contributions to baseball.”
The club saw experienced some dramatic changes during Jeter’s tenure. The Marlins traded franchise player Giancarlo Stanton and his $325 million contract to the Yankees soon after Jeter took over as Miami’s CEO. In November 2020, the Marlins hired Kim Ng as general manger. Ng became the first woman hired to run an MLB team’s baseball operations.
On the business front, the Marlins had few breakthroughs.
Last March, the Marlins struck their first ever naming rights deal for their ballpark that was built in 2012. Mortgage platform LoanDepot is paying the Marlins a reported $10 million per year for that asset.
Yet the Marlins fell to last in MLB attendance, a spot the club has occupied since 2018.
The franchise failed to draw at least one million fans to the ballpark, and only grew revenue slightly – to $222 million from $219 million – between 2018 and 2020. The team’s 2021 revenue is reportedly $96 million, partly due to the sport’s recovery from the pandemic.
