Tom Hicks, the Dallas investor who Forbes magazine says was worth $1 billion last year, drew an annual salary of $183,504 through May and received another $14,452 in expenses from the Texas Rangers, which declared voluntary bankruptcy in May.
The American League West leader also disclosed that its gross revenues totaled $167 million in 2009, up 12 percent from the year before when proceeds added up to $149 million.
That and other tightly held confidential information was released by the ballclub, including president Nolan Ryan's $1.5 million annual salary through May as well as thousands paid out this year to a Dallas attorney who writes what has been generally considered an independent blog about the team.
Ryan's salary became news when the New York Daily News recently claimed that the Hall-of-Famer earned $9 million a year as club president.
The court document filed by the team said he received $1,540,527 for the 12 months ending May 24, and $85,750 in expenses.
Jamison "Jamey" Newberg, who operates a popular website, The Newberg Report, was paid $27,125 by the team from February through April, according to the court document filed late Monday.
Newberg said the payments likely were for books he sold the club. And while he received no money for his blog, the Rangers did finance his family's trip to spring training in Surprise, Ariz.
A lengthy 2004 Dallas Observer article described Newberg's blog as a must-read for fans and even baseball beat writers and team officials who, it said, were initially suspicious of Newberg.
There is no disclaimer on his blog site that Newberg has been paid for services to the Rangers. Near the end of the Observer piece, the weekly said: "Perhaps one day Newberg will finally get what he wants — a shot at working for a big-league club."
The Rangers declared bankruptcy on May 24 to unblock liens placed on the team by major lenders who opposed what has become a $575 million sale to a group headed by Pittsburgh sports attorney Chuck Greenberg and Ryan, who would stay on as president.
Although described as a "pre-packaged" bankruptcy, the reorganization plan has been vigorously challenged by the lenders.
Owed $525 million in loans on which the team defaulted in March 2009, they believe the team is worth more than what the group is offering. They unsuccessfully tried to postpone the July 9 date on which U.S. Judge Michael Lynn could confirm the bankruptcy plan — and sale to the Greenberg-Ryan group. But Lynn, in reverting to the original date last week, warned the team and the buyers' group that they risked seeing the plan rejected.
Bankruptcy is expensive. Weil Gotshal & Manges were paid $2.9 million from March 1 through May 31, according to the filing. One PR company, the LeMaster Group of Dallas, was paid $42,500 this spring and another, Kekst & Co. of New York, pocketed $95,000. Other advisers received $182,000.
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