3 key points on how the Rogers/Bell MLSE deal affects the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Rogers/Bell MLSE deal shouldn't have any direct impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. However, changes in the company's board could trickle down eventually reaching the on-ice product, especially if the Leafs fail to live up to expectations this season.
The recent buyout of Bell’s 37.5% stake in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) by Rogers Communications is a big, big deal for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On the business news side of it, removing on-field sports from the equation, this acquisition of the Toronto Maple Leafs is a huge news story. Forbes reported the deal to be worth roughly $4.7 billion, making it one of the biggest business deals in Canadian history.
The deal has far-reaching consequences for four major sports franchises: The Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts, and Toronto FC. The deal also indirectly impacts the Toronto Blue Jays as Rogers owns the Skydome (yes, I still call it “Skydome”).
While the deal actually has a major impact on the NBA, there are three key points to consider when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs. So, let’s take a deep dive into what this deal could mean for the Leafs and the team’s fans moving forward.
3 key points on how the Rogers/Bell MLSE deal affects the Toronto Maple Leafs
It’s all about media
As Forbes noted, Bell’s buyout could impact the broadcasting of Toronto Maple Leafs games this season and into 2026. For the past decade or so, Bell and Rogers have maintained equal coverage of the Leafs and Raptors. However, that stands to change.
Bell stands to lose broadcasting rights to the Leafs and Raptors unless it ponies up the cash. If Bell is unwilling to meet Rogers’ asking price, Rogers stands to keep all of the Leafs and Raptors’ broadcasting rights.
Now, reading between the lines, it seems Bell is comfortable with that idea. Otherwise, Bell would not have sold its rights. In fact, it seems that Bell will most likely focus on the Montreal Canadiens, while Rogers on the Leafs.
It’s also worth pointing out that Rogers has deals in place with the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. As such, Rogers stands to become the sports broadcasting behemoth in Canada.
So, what does this mean to fans?
There could changes in streaming and cable packages. Fans with Rogers should be able to catch all the action, while fans who don’t may have to purchase additional packages to catch Leafs games. That situation could drive prices up. But there’s no telling if that could be the case at this point.
The NHL may also need to look into the matter as the league has a deal with ESPN to broadcast a specific number of games every season. How this deal impacts the NHL’s relationships with ESPN is still uncertain at this point. Personally, I catch Leafs games on ESPN and they’re almost exclusively a retransmission of the Sportsnet broadcast.
The on-ice product won’t change, for now
The deal should have little if any impact on the on-ice product for now. The Toronto Maple Leafs should continue to operate business as usual, with players, coaches, and management largely unaffected by the deal.
Nevertheless, there may be a trickle-down effect moving forward. As Rogers reconfigures MLSE’s board, new or existing members will have a chance to implement policies and make decisions that the previous board may have rejected.
These policies could start with changes in upper management and trickle down to middle management, the coaching staff, and players.
Here’s where the rubber hit the road. High-level executives like team President Brendan Shanahan may be on the chopping block if MLSE’s board is unhappy with the on-ice product. Then, other top-level executives like GM Brad Treliving may be in the spotlight as well.
Of course, it’s far too early to speculate about any such changes at this point. The likeliest scenario is that everything remains the same until the Leafs season is over. If the season ends with a successful playoff run, fans should expect the status quo to remain.
But if the Leafs wash out in the first round of the playoffs again, or, heaven forbid, the Leafs miss the playoffs, there could be significant changes looming on the horizon next offseason.
Again, it’s too early to tell. But one has to wonder if Leafs upper management is walking on eggshells at this point. Forbes reported that the buyout won’t close until some point in 2026. As a result, the current team administration could have one, maybe two seasons, to get it right.
Otherwise, the Toronto Maple Leafs could look radically different in 2026. Whether that involves a shakeup from the top down, or perhaps going as far as blowing everything up and starting from scratch, we can’t know for sure.
Major business decisions could be halted for the time being
When I read about this deal, a lightbulb went off. You see, whenever companies go through acquisitions, takeovers, mergers, or buyouts, major business decisions get halted.
For instance, companies implement policies such as temporary pay freezes, hiring new staff, investing in property, plant, and equipment, or slashing research and development and marketing budgets.
What does this mean for the Toronto Maple Leafs?
This business deal could be the reason for the Mitch Marner contract negotiations hitting an impasse. When William Nylander signed his deal last season, it was under the Rogers/Bell administration. However, when it came time to re-up Marner (and John Tavares as well), the Leafs board pumped the breaks.
Perhaps it could be a question of the club’s upper echelons waiting for the dust to settle before clearing the dollar amounts on Marner’s new deal. Or, it could be a situation in which the bean counters at Rogers want to make sure everything is squared away before inking Marner to a new deal.
From that perspective, it makes total sense that there is such hermeticism surrounding the Marner negotiations.
Here’s the reason why:
Any who comments on an ongoing business deal, such as the Bell/Rogers deal, could be charged with violating confidentiality rules. This situation is commonly called “insider trading.”
Suppose that Marner’s agent publicly states: We have a deal in place. All we need to do is wait for the finance people at Rogers to greenlight the deal.
Such comments could be misconstrued as revealing insider information. So, the best way to go is to keep mum on the issue. Marner won’t comment anything on the negotiations because his lawyers told him that anything he says could be used against him.
Meanwhile, Marner’s agent is walking the tightrope because he won’t break confidentiality on his client’s behalf. This is all just speculation, but I'm just trying to illustrate how this deal could potentially affect things.
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Ultimately, it seems to me that Leafs fans should breathe a sigh of relief. It doesn’t appear that Marner wants out. It’s just that the ongoing background business situation could be the only thing holding up Marner and Tavares’ contract extensions.