A little more than two years after their separation became public, it appears Frank and Jamie McCourt have settled their contentious and costly divorce case. Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times, as always, has the details:
Frank and Jamie McCourt have reached a divorce settlement under which she would get about $130 million and relinquish any claim to a share of the Dodgers, multiple people familiar with the agreement told The Times.
Now we wait for the next major step, which is the hearing in Delaware Bankruptcy Court in two weeks on whether or not the Dodgers can open up their television rights for bid. Even if Frank McCourt does receive the financial lifeline of a new TV deal with much-needed upfront money, it's unclear if that will be a panacea, wrote Shaikin:
It is uncertain whether the Bankruptcy Court would allow McCourt to use money from a television deal to satisfy a divorce settlement — Selig would not — or whether the net proceeds of a sale of the team would exceed $130 million.
As much as I want Frank McCourt to go away and for this whole process to finally end, I am willing to entertain a scenario where McCourt gets his new TV deal, then goes wild this offseason trying to buy back fan love by signing Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw to long-term deals and signing free agent Prince Fielder. But short of that, here's hoping Frank follows Jamie out the door as soon as humanly possible.