Jeffrey Lurie is a billionaire.
Yawn.
This is not news, even if Forbes magazine puts his name on a list. We have all known for a while that the Eagles are worth somewhere north of $1 billion. Given the prices of sports franchises -- given reporting/guesstimating done by Forbes itself over the last couple of years -- this has been pretty well established (although, to be fair, it really ain't worth a billion until somebody says they're willing to pay that much).
Truth in blogging here: the only surer way in Philadelphia to get hits on your website -- surer than doing the rich-scoundrels thing about the Eagles -- is to post pictures of big-breasted women accused of felonies. (Or misdemeanors.) But I'm not going there today because it has nothing to do with anything. It is not the reason that Brian Dawkins isn't here anymore, for example.
Because the reason Lurie is a billionaire is impeccable genetics and...you.
The reason Lurie is a billionaire is because he inherited the money it took to buy the franchise in the first place and because the NFL has exploded in the last 15 years as an entertainment entity and because the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agreed to kick in a significant portion of the money it took to build a new stadium and because you and you and you promptly agreed not only to pay increased prices at the new palace but also to buy up every available ticket -- and tens of thousands of you put your names on a waiting list as well.
The Eagles are bulletproof. The owner is a billionaire.
You are the reason.
To begrudge him the money is a waste of time and breath. He is a rich guy and he took a rich guy's risk and the thing has worked out in an enormous way. Word was, when Lurie bought the team from Norman Braman for about $195 million, that people laughed behind Lurie's back that he paid too much. Now the thing has quintupled in value and, well, nobody's laughing now.
So, now we know that Lurie and sports owners are wealthy people.
Yawn.