June 12, 2025 • 24 mins
In this episode of The Deal, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly talk with Magic Johnson, the iconic point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. In their conversation, taped in front of a live audience at the Milken Global Conference, Johnson reveals what he’s learned from his “greatest deal,” becoming part of the Washington Commanders ownership group. He also explains why pitching himself as a partner to the Starbucks board was the hardest thing he’s ever done, and how much it meant to win an Olympic gold medal alongside Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to The Deal everyone, I'm Jason Kelly alongside
Alex Rodriguez a very special episode of The Deal Today,
Magic Johnson, the one and only. We taped this live
at the Milkon and Stuke Global Conference in Beverly Hills.
It was electric man, so electric.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well Magic, I mean, he's one of one, right, and
we were in his hometown right there in LA where
he played for the Lakers and won five titles.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I've known him almost thirty years.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
She's been a friend and a mentor, and I love
the way he talked about value partnerships, demanding excellence.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
And he talked about some of his most recent partnerships,
most notably his ownership stake in the Washington Commanders. He
talked about Starbucks and a seminal deal that he made
with Howard Schultz and what that took. He talked about
institutional capital, and he talked about a couple iconic players.
I mean a team that we followed so closely.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Right, oh yeah, and that was the Olympic team in
nineteen ninety two, and of course that changed the NBA,
made it a global sport. And he specifically talked about
none other than Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
You'll hear all of that coming up on this very
special episode of the Deal. All right, So I'm gonna
say just you know, as a human being, this is
(01:35):
exciting for me. But my excitement, I'm telling you, is
nothing compared to this guys. Alex Rodriguez is not He
does not swoon, He does not you know, be like, oh,
I'm so excited about this.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
He's beside himself right now. All right, So I'm Jason Kelly.
This is Alex Rodriguez. We have home embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, oh just wait.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We host to show a Bloomberg called The Deal, and
we couldn't be more excited to have you here with
us Magic.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So thank you, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
So what's so interesting is there are a lot of
fans in this room of both of these guys, but
there is a very special relationship between these two.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
It's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
As Alex and I have been doing this show, we
have had a north star and I know Alex has
a north star in Magic and this is a this
is a relationship that goes back a long way to
a young Seattle Mariner who was essentially cold calling heroes
and trying to learn about business. Alex, I want you
to take us back happened here in Los Angeles, to
(02:34):
what you took from what was meant to be thirty
minutes turned you into a few hours.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
You still have the notes. What's the takeaway from magic?
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Thanks Jason, and thanks everybody for being here. I'm a
huge believer in the power of mentorship. So I called
Lon Rosen, who's a longtime partner of Irvin, and I said,
is there any way now we're with the Mariners, there's
like twenty five, twenty seven years ago. I'm just a
young kid, twenty two to twenty three, and I said, long,
can I get thirty minutes with the guy? And I'm
(03:06):
thinking like, yeah, maybe in a couple of years. He's like, hey,
how's tomorrow night. I'm like, bet, I'm there. So we
sat in a room it was supposed to be thirty minutes.
That led to him with a three hour dinner where
I have like nine pages of notes and there's no
question in my mind that Irvin has impacted me. And
without that dinner, because here's a man of color, here's
a guy that was a Hall of Fame basketball player.
(03:26):
He comes from humble beginnings, all things that I can
relate with. And I said, if Magic can do it,
why can't I. So anyways, I wouldn't own a team
without Magic. I wouldn't have a Rod Corp Without Irvin.
And I just want to say thank you, and I
wanted to share that story with you.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
No, thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, let's talk about that, because what you have done
over the course of the last you know, thirty forty years,
is a series of unbelievable deals and one of the
most interesting things, and Alex and I talk about this
all the time, is your movement to ownership. You know,
you have a partner mark in here in the front
row with the Washington Commanders. We spent some time with
your Josh Harris last week in Miami. That's a seminal
(04:03):
deal for the NFL. I would argue, it's a seminal
deal for you. Would you agree? And how do you.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Put that in the context of your dealmaking?
Speaker 5 (04:11):
No, it's the greatest deal I've ever done. I mean, listen, first,
as a kid, I'm already a football fan. I played football,
but I knew I was better at basketball, So I
gave it up in high school to concentrate on basketball.
But to know that I've been a big fan of
the NFL, not knowing that a man of color could
actually become an owner in the NFL, but I had.
(04:35):
Josh Harris said, hey, I want you to be a
part of this ownership group. We had went after the
Denver Broncos, but a young man for Walmark said I
don't care what you bid. I'm gonna outbid you, so
you might well just keep your money right and Josh
I said, okay, we give.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
But the team we're supposed to own, we own.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
Why did I say that Josh Harris is from d C,
so he watched the Redskins as a boy. Marks from
d C, so he watched the Redskins as a boy.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Mitch Rails is from d C.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
So now they got men who grew up loving this
team who now become the owners and the gatekeepers. And
I think, and I knew that we were going to
do a fantastic job, and then for them to bring
me in, it's a blessing for me, but also for
men of color, but also former athletes as well. It
(05:36):
shows them that we can go from the court to
the boardroom, and I want to thank Mark because he's here,
and Josh has done a wonderful job of leading our
team and the ownership group.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
And look where we when we bought the team. Look
where we are.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
Today, you know, and it's going up and up and up.
And I'm so happy to be a part of the
ownership group.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Sir, that's your best deal in sports, and we agree
that's just in the NFL is one of one. I mean,
Roger Goodell does an incredible.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Job, we know that.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
But going to outside of sports and business, going back
to the Howard Shult stage with Starbucks one hundred and
twenty five stores, Mark Master for twenty four our fitness
and other deals. Also, you got an insurance business. What
would you think is your seminal deal outside of sports?
Speaker 5 (06:20):
It have to be Starbucks because it gave me the
stamp of approval. A lot of people wanted to take
the meeting with me because they wanted to autograph in
the picture, but then they said no, they didn't want
to be in business with me.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I knew we were going.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
To Seattle, and I knew Howard shows set court side,
So I said to the PR guy or Seattle, which.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
One is Howard Shows and he said there, he is
right there. I said, cool.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
I ran right over there to him right and I said, hey,
I'm Irvin Johnson. I know where you are man, And
I asked him, I said, could I take you to
lunch or dinner the next time that we're back playing
the SuperSonics and to sit down and just go over
business and talk to you.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
And he said okay. So a few weeks later.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
We went back up there, and my movie Theaters was
crushing it in the inner city. It showed people you
can make money doing business in the inner cities of America.
So I went up there. I took the numbers up
to him. I showed them, Hey, we're doing great. My
theaters are top ten highest grosing theaters in the nation.
(07:32):
And nobody thought, you know, we can make money. And
he looked and said wow. I said, the growth of
your business would be through urban America because you got
one on every corner in suburban America. So he said, Urban,
let me come down see how you operate your business.
But also I got to talk to the board and
the shareholders. I said, okay. So he came down saw
(07:53):
how I operated it. He was very impressed. And then
the hardest thing I thought I was going to do
was play against Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. The hardest
thing was to go before the board and then going
to a movie theater pack with good shareholders and try
to convince them this is a great move for Starbucks.
(08:15):
And sure enough I was able to do that and
they all signed off, and I became the first person
to ever own Starbucks. Outside of Starbucks, we built one
hundred and twenty five and forty different markets across America.
They all did extremely well, and that really gave me,
first of all, the stamp of approval. It gave me
(08:37):
the track record that I needed of success so I
can move on to something else.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
And then, last but not least, Alex. This is the
one thing.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
It gave me a chance to go up to cal
Purrs and Cal Stirs. Yeah, because I was using my money,
but if I wanted sustainability and growth, I had to
go to institutional capital. And it took me three years
man to convince cal Perrs to give me fifty million
dollars and they said, uh, we.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Love you magic, but Urban America, we're not too excited
about it. How can we make money.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
But they finally gave me the fifty and they said,
if you over delivered with this fifty, you can come
back and get hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.
I did that. I over delivered. I bought a shopping
center only for twenty two million. It was only forty
percent occupied. I made it one hundred percent occupied. I
resold it for almost fifty million dollars. Took that twenty
eight million dollar profit up north and they.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Said, I said here go.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
They said, oh, okay, you do no business, let's do it.
So that's when I started my fund. And then you know,
I partnered with Canyon Partners to do Urban Urban America.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
So we started an urban.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Fundah Ron Burkle and I started a private equity fund together,
which was another urban fund U KAIPA Johnson, and then
I just took off from there. How do you pick partners, Well,
first of all, we all in here have been through
a bad marriage with partners, No, every single one of us,
(10:11):
at least one, right, So I went through one or
two of those and I said never again. And I
always wanted to pick partners that could teach me something
that can help expand my knowledge in terms of business
mentor me in a sense.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
So sure enough.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
When I think about Mark Waters and Todd Bowley, Peter Gruber,
all these people that we own the Dodgers together, they
have done an excellent job of allowing me to grow
but also too to use my expertise as well. It's
been wonderful, Bobby Patton, all of them, So it's been great.
And then Mark and Mitchell and Josh is doing the
(10:59):
same thing issues in DC that they know that, Hey,
I can, you know, be a part of the board market.
And I was on boards Josh assigned us too, and
so it's been wonderful to be a part of and
have a voice, a real voice. And so I thank
Josh for that. And so I know what I know
(11:20):
and I know what I don't know, right. I think
a lot of times when athletes are trying to become businessmen,
they got to take their ego out of it and
back up and really understand, Hey, what do you really know?
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Right?
Speaker 5 (11:35):
And to Alice's point, you got to get mentors, and
you've got to be with businessmen and women who want
to help you grow, right. And so all the teams
that I'm involved in It's been great to learn from
the different people, men and women, and to expand my
own personal growth.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
So I remember when you about the Dodgers we started talking,
you were kind of peppering me with a questions about
baseball and all that. My question to you now, as
an owner of an NBA and a WNBA team, what
are two or three things now you learn from the
best and doctor bus you're one of the greatest of
all times. What can I do to be a better owner?
What are the two or three things I should be
thinking about with my partner Mark Luri.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Well, I think first of all, to have a three
to five year plan and where you want to take
the franchise.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Make sure that everybody.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Is on the same page and everybody in your organization
understands that plan and that strategy right. And have a
great relationship with your players. I think that when you
have a great relationship with your players, they'll come to
you and they'll come and tell you, hey.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
We need this, we need that to be successful.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
And that's very important that those men or women are
very happy and that they know that you care.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You know.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
And then, last but not least, listen, be demanding and
hold everybody accountable.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You know, I come around that corner.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
You may see a smile, but you let us be
losing no smiling, right. My job is to hold everybody accountable,
and so I will always talk to the guys, make
sure they understand what's the identity of this franchise, right,
And you have to say, this is who we are,
this is who we want to be, and make sure
(13:43):
those men or women understand that. And we've done that
with we changed the whole identity with the Washington commanders.
They know that we care about them, but they know
we want to win, right, and the fans know that,
and it's trickled down to everybody in that organization. Some
day one when we had a meeting with all the staff,
(14:04):
we told them were here to win, and we're going
to change the environment that that losing environment that they
were in before. And we've done that step by step
by step. We changed the stadium, we changed the locker room,
all the things that players were complaining about. Josh did
a wonderful job of jumping on top of that, right,
(14:25):
and so and then he sends us out and where
we're strong. So you make sure Mark, you might go
one way, but Alex, you might go another way because
there's plenty of things to tackle and then you tackle
some together. And so that's what I would say to you.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So to that point, Magic, And actually I'm going to
turn this question on you too, Alex. You know, this
whole notion of an athlete turned owner is fascinating to me.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
This may come as a surprise.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I did not play professional sports, but I know some
people who did, and soon asked this question. As a
play former player turned owner, what do you say to players?
What's the sort of tack that you take to them,
because maybe they're in your sport, maybe they're a baseball
player or a soccer player or a football player.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
What's the tack you take them?
Speaker 2 (15:13):
What's the secrets that you can sort of the secret
language if there is one that you can speak to
them that you know a Josh or Mark Kent.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
Well, because you know, we talk about preparation and I
talk to our commander players about you know, preparation.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
It starts in practice. You got to.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Practice the way you're going to play on Sunday, so
that starts on Monday all the way through, right and
losing it's got to be a bad taste in your mouth, right,
and then we got to be a team. We lose
as a team, we win as a team.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Right.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
It can't be hitting agendas that kills you every time
everybody got there. If a player got his own agenda
and it's not about team goes, it's gonna kill you, You're
gonna lose, and it trickles down within the locker room.
So that's what I would say. But the one thing
(16:11):
we both have is that they respect us already. Yeah,
and I can say something that Mark can't say right, right,
because he's gonna look at me and say, oh, he's
been through it.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Right.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
Do you find that, Alex? I mean, like, what's your
experience so far with that?
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:25):
I do agree with every hold on one second, and
then I walk in with seventeen damn World Series or
World Championship ring, right, So I'm walking in with jewelry,
so they understand that language, real fans, Okay.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Go ahead, that's right.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
No, I think.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Look, I think Irvan and I one thing we know.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
We know how the players feel, we know where they
come from, we know the pressures, and like, make no mistake,
when Irvan and I played, it was hard to be
an athlete. It's no harder time to be an athlete
than today. Thank God. I ain't play when at the
height of social media, I got myself in enough trouble.
But in New York City, gonna championship.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
But no one knows what you're no one, no one knows,
nobody knows.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Good.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
That is your fine? All right? Can we do the
rapid fire?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Let's do it?
Speaker 4 (17:19):
All right?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
We're gonna so on our show, The Deal. Please tune
in and download wherever you got your podcast. We do
a little rapid fire segment. So we're gonna hit you
with this magic.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I'm ready? All right?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Just the first thing that comes to your mind? What's
one word to describe your deal making style?
Speaker 1 (17:38):
One word? Wow? A lot of pressure? Yes, dang success?
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Or what's more important to you? Data or your gut?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
It's always my feel, feel, always my feel. I'm always
read the data, no question about it.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
But it's a feel.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
When they walk in and we I can just feel
is it gonna be a deal?
Speaker 1 (18:05):
And I know when it's not going to be a deal?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Who's your dream deal making partner?
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Got a lot?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Wow? That's big? Just the next guy? Growth mode.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Hey, no, I'm I'm not choosy or picky the next woman,
next man. Let's go get it done. And the one
thing they gonna know about me, everything I'm supposed to
do as Mark, I'm gonna do it in more so,
whatever my role is, I'm gonna play it.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received on
deal making or business?
Speaker 5 (18:44):
Ron Berker once told me Irvin, I brought him this
little deal. He said, Irvan, the same amount of time
I gotta spend on that little deal, It's the same
amount of time I gotta spend making a billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
I said, I got it.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Thank you for that small deals.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
What's the worst advice you've ever been given?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
The worst advice?
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Not with smart women and men, they don't give you
really worst advice.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Thank God that I'm in rooms.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
Like this a lot, and that you with solid people
and people who have really been successful at what they do.
I think the worst advice Alex and I get it's
usually from people that they don't have much right a
success right.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
They always talk a.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Good game, but they don't really back it up with,
you know, action and what they're doing.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Or what's your hype song before a big game, meeting
or negotiation.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh that's good.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
Anything Michael Jackson, okay, all right, anything that's my man,
the greatest artists of all time to me, and and
I love Prince too, So either one put them on,
I'm good.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
All right.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
You want to few people to win the basketball triple
Crown and the NCAA Championship, five NBA championships, and an
Olympic gold medal, which meant the most too.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I think the gold medal.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Because of this, I finally got a chance to play
with Michael and Larry.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, I've always on my bucket list.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
I've always wanted to just throw a pass to both
of those guys, like a no, look past, like come
down that damn middle, and I'm coming down and there's
Larry in the corner, just no, looking real fast and
let him shoot that beautiful jump shot.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Yeah, like Larry does.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
And then Larry talks to I love that day. He
talks trash.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
And then Michael come down the middle with the tongue out.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Nothing like it.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
And I'm telling you, when I threw the note, look
past that both of them dudes, what's.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Better than that?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
That was it?
Speaker 5 (20:53):
Yeah? Yeah, nothing like it. I love both of them.
They both made their teammates better. Michael's the greatest has
ever played this game, This dude when I played with him, Larry, So, Alex,
you're gonna love this. So Larry and I got all
the championships, right, Yeah, so he true story.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
So he walks in. It ain't Brian, you know. So
we walk in and Michael comes in.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
Larry and I are sitting here talking and he stands
right there and he says, I just want both of
you guys.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
To know there's a new sheriff in town. And we
had to bow down. You're right.
Speaker 5 (21:38):
And he went on to win six championships and never
lost in the finals. So it's hard to argue about
a man that great that could do the things that
he could do. And his player got some of Michael's
quality out in terms of how he can go up
in the air and do some of the things that
he can do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Special, all right, last question for this room.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Very successful people aren't successful but with a lot of ambition.
What's your best advice to them who want a career
like yours?
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Wow? Man, oh man? Me giving these people advice? Wow?
Speaker 5 (22:18):
I think really just uh you know, continue to be
who they are and do what they do, and don't
forget this. You know, we all you know, it's great
to make a lot of money, but also we'll be
remembered by also giving back and how many people we
touched too, you know, and that's very important, and so
I would say, don't forget that part of it as well.
(22:40):
The impact that they can make, whether it's with their
wallet or with their power and expertise, is very important,
especially times like now, we really need that. And uh
so I would say, continue to do what they're doing.
I'm just excited to be here. Listen, Alex and I
when we had that meeting, never thought we would be here.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
I've been friends with Michael Milkin.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
For probably over thirty years and the man has just
been incredible in my life. And so for that Alex
and I to be on this stage at the Milking Conference,
oh man, this is I got goosebumps already, like I'm
getting ready to go play basketball, and so this is
really outstanding for me.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
All Right, well, magicic On behalf of Alex, the giddiest
man in Hollywood right now, Thank.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
You so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
This was God blessed everybody.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Thank you everyone.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
The Deal is a production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals.
The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly.
This show was produced by Anamazarakis, Lizzie Phillip, and Stacey Wong.
Original music and engineering by Blake Maples.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
David E.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
Ravella is our managing editor. Our executive producers are Jason
key Elly, Brendan Francis, Neonham, Jordan Opplinger, Trey Shallowhorn, Andrew Barden,
Kelly Leferrier, and Ashley Hoenig. Sage Bauman is our head
of Podcasts. Rubob Shakir is our creative director. Art direction
is from Jacqueline Kessler. Joshua Devaux is our director of photography.
(24:20):
Alex Diacanis is our video editor. Listen to The Deal
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also tune into The Video Companion on Bloomberg
Originals and on Bloomberg TV. Thanks for listening.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome back to The Deal everyone, I'm Jason Kelly alongside
Alex Rodriguez a very special episode of The Deal Today,
Magic Johnson, the one and only. We taped this live
at the Milkon and Stuke Global Conference in Beverly Hills.
It was electric man, so electric.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well Magic, I mean, he's one of one, right, and
we were in his hometown right there in LA where
he played for the Lakers and won five titles.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
I've known him almost thirty years.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
She's been a friend and a mentor, and I love
the way he talked about value partnerships, demanding excellence.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
And he talked about some of his most recent partnerships,
most notably his ownership stake in the Washington Commanders. He
talked about Starbucks and a seminal deal that he made
with Howard Schultz and what that took. He talked about
institutional capital, and he talked about a couple iconic players.
I mean a team that we followed so closely.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Right, oh yeah, and that was the Olympic team in
nineteen ninety two, and of course that changed the NBA,
made it a global sport. And he specifically talked about
none other than Larry Bird and Michael Jordan.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
You'll hear all of that coming up on this very
special episode of the Deal. All right, So I'm gonna
say just you know, as a human being, this is
(01:35):
exciting for me. But my excitement, I'm telling you, is
nothing compared to this guys. Alex Rodriguez is not He
does not swoon, He does not you know, be like, oh,
I'm so excited about this.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
He's beside himself right now. All right, So I'm Jason Kelly.
This is Alex Rodriguez. We have home embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Yeah, oh just wait.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
We host to show a Bloomberg called The Deal, and
we couldn't be more excited to have you here with
us Magic.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
So thank you, thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
So what's so interesting is there are a lot of
fans in this room of both of these guys, but
there is a very special relationship between these two.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
It's so interesting.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
As Alex and I have been doing this show, we
have had a north star and I know Alex has
a north star in Magic and this is a this
is a relationship that goes back a long way to
a young Seattle Mariner who was essentially cold calling heroes
and trying to learn about business. Alex, I want you
to take us back happened here in Los Angeles, to
(02:34):
what you took from what was meant to be thirty
minutes turned you into a few hours.
Speaker 4 (02:40):
You still have the notes. What's the takeaway from magic?
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Thanks Jason, and thanks everybody for being here. I'm a
huge believer in the power of mentorship. So I called
Lon Rosen, who's a longtime partner of Irvin, and I said,
is there any way now we're with the Mariners, there's
like twenty five, twenty seven years ago. I'm just a
young kid, twenty two to twenty three, and I said, long,
can I get thirty minutes with the guy? And I'm
(03:06):
thinking like, yeah, maybe in a couple of years. He's like, hey,
how's tomorrow night. I'm like, bet, I'm there. So we
sat in a room it was supposed to be thirty minutes.
That led to him with a three hour dinner where
I have like nine pages of notes and there's no
question in my mind that Irvin has impacted me. And
without that dinner, because here's a man of color, here's
a guy that was a Hall of Fame basketball player.
(03:26):
He comes from humble beginnings, all things that I can
relate with. And I said, if Magic can do it,
why can't I. So anyways, I wouldn't own a team
without Magic. I wouldn't have a Rod Corp Without Irvin.
And I just want to say thank you, and I
wanted to share that story with you.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
No, thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, let's talk about that, because what you have done
over the course of the last you know, thirty forty years,
is a series of unbelievable deals and one of the
most interesting things, and Alex and I talk about this
all the time, is your movement to ownership. You know,
you have a partner mark in here in the front
row with the Washington Commanders. We spent some time with
your Josh Harris last week in Miami. That's a seminal
(04:03):
deal for the NFL. I would argue, it's a seminal
deal for you. Would you agree? And how do you.
Speaker 4 (04:09):
Put that in the context of your dealmaking?
Speaker 5 (04:11):
No, it's the greatest deal I've ever done. I mean, listen, first,
as a kid, I'm already a football fan. I played football,
but I knew I was better at basketball, So I
gave it up in high school to concentrate on basketball.
But to know that I've been a big fan of
the NFL, not knowing that a man of color could
actually become an owner in the NFL, but I had.
(04:35):
Josh Harris said, hey, I want you to be a
part of this ownership group. We had went after the
Denver Broncos, but a young man for Walmark said I
don't care what you bid. I'm gonna outbid you, so
you might well just keep your money right and Josh
I said, okay, we give.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
But the team we're supposed to own, we own.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
Why did I say that Josh Harris is from d C,
so he watched the Redskins as a boy. Marks from
d C, so he watched the Redskins as a boy.
Speaker 1 (05:11):
Mitch Rails is from d C.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
So now they got men who grew up loving this
team who now become the owners and the gatekeepers. And
I think, and I knew that we were going to
do a fantastic job, and then for them to bring
me in, it's a blessing for me, but also for
men of color, but also former athletes as well. It
(05:36):
shows them that we can go from the court to
the boardroom, and I want to thank Mark because he's here,
and Josh has done a wonderful job of leading our
team and the ownership group.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
And look where we when we bought the team. Look
where we are.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
Today, you know, and it's going up and up and up.
And I'm so happy to be a part of the
ownership group.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Sir, that's your best deal in sports, and we agree
that's just in the NFL is one of one. I mean,
Roger Goodell does an incredible.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
Job, we know that.
Speaker 3 (06:05):
But going to outside of sports and business, going back
to the Howard Shult stage with Starbucks one hundred and
twenty five stores, Mark Master for twenty four our fitness
and other deals. Also, you got an insurance business. What
would you think is your seminal deal outside of sports?
Speaker 5 (06:20):
It have to be Starbucks because it gave me the
stamp of approval. A lot of people wanted to take
the meeting with me because they wanted to autograph in
the picture, but then they said no, they didn't want
to be in business with me.
Speaker 1 (06:34):
I knew we were going.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
To Seattle, and I knew Howard shows set court side,
So I said to the PR guy or Seattle, which.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
One is Howard Shows and he said there, he is
right there. I said, cool.
Speaker 5 (06:48):
I ran right over there to him right and I said, hey,
I'm Irvin Johnson. I know where you are man, And
I asked him, I said, could I take you to
lunch or dinner the next time that we're back playing
the SuperSonics and to sit down and just go over
business and talk to you.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
And he said okay. So a few weeks later.
Speaker 5 (07:11):
We went back up there, and my movie Theaters was
crushing it in the inner city. It showed people you
can make money doing business in the inner cities of America.
So I went up there. I took the numbers up
to him. I showed them, Hey, we're doing great. My
theaters are top ten highest grosing theaters in the nation.
(07:32):
And nobody thought, you know, we can make money. And
he looked and said wow. I said, the growth of
your business would be through urban America because you got
one on every corner in suburban America. So he said, Urban,
let me come down see how you operate your business.
But also I got to talk to the board and
the shareholders. I said, okay. So he came down saw
(07:53):
how I operated it. He was very impressed. And then
the hardest thing I thought I was going to do
was play against Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. The hardest
thing was to go before the board and then going
to a movie theater pack with good shareholders and try
to convince them this is a great move for Starbucks.
(08:15):
And sure enough I was able to do that and
they all signed off, and I became the first person
to ever own Starbucks. Outside of Starbucks, we built one
hundred and twenty five and forty different markets across America.
They all did extremely well, and that really gave me,
first of all, the stamp of approval. It gave me
(08:37):
the track record that I needed of success so I
can move on to something else.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
And then, last but not least, Alex. This is the
one thing.
Speaker 5 (08:46):
It gave me a chance to go up to cal
Purrs and Cal Stirs. Yeah, because I was using my money,
but if I wanted sustainability and growth, I had to
go to institutional capital. And it took me three years
man to convince cal Perrs to give me fifty million
dollars and they said, uh, we.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Love you magic, but Urban America, we're not too excited
about it. How can we make money.
Speaker 5 (09:14):
But they finally gave me the fifty and they said,
if you over delivered with this fifty, you can come
back and get hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.
I did that. I over delivered. I bought a shopping
center only for twenty two million. It was only forty
percent occupied. I made it one hundred percent occupied. I
resold it for almost fifty million dollars. Took that twenty
eight million dollar profit up north and they.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Said, I said here go.
Speaker 5 (09:38):
They said, oh, okay, you do no business, let's do it.
So that's when I started my fund. And then you know,
I partnered with Canyon Partners to do Urban Urban America.
Speaker 1 (09:50):
So we started an urban.
Speaker 5 (09:51):
Fundah Ron Burkle and I started a private equity fund together,
which was another urban fund U KAIPA Johnson, and then
I just took off from there. How do you pick partners, Well,
first of all, we all in here have been through
a bad marriage with partners, No, every single one of us,
(10:11):
at least one, right, So I went through one or
two of those and I said never again. And I
always wanted to pick partners that could teach me something
that can help expand my knowledge in terms of business
mentor me in a sense.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
So sure enough.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
When I think about Mark Waters and Todd Bowley, Peter Gruber,
all these people that we own the Dodgers together, they
have done an excellent job of allowing me to grow
but also too to use my expertise as well. It's
been wonderful, Bobby Patton, all of them, So it's been great.
And then Mark and Mitchell and Josh is doing the
(10:59):
same thing issues in DC that they know that, Hey,
I can, you know, be a part of the board market.
And I was on boards Josh assigned us too, and
so it's been wonderful to be a part of and
have a voice, a real voice. And so I thank
Josh for that. And so I know what I know
(11:20):
and I know what I don't know, right. I think
a lot of times when athletes are trying to become businessmen,
they got to take their ego out of it and
back up and really understand, Hey, what do you really know?
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Right?
Speaker 5 (11:35):
And to Alice's point, you got to get mentors, and
you've got to be with businessmen and women who want
to help you grow, right. And so all the teams
that I'm involved in It's been great to learn from
the different people, men and women, and to expand my
own personal growth.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
So I remember when you about the Dodgers we started talking,
you were kind of peppering me with a questions about
baseball and all that. My question to you now, as
an owner of an NBA and a WNBA team, what
are two or three things now you learn from the
best and doctor bus you're one of the greatest of
all times. What can I do to be a better owner?
What are the two or three things I should be
thinking about with my partner Mark Luri.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Well, I think first of all, to have a three
to five year plan and where you want to take
the franchise.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Make sure that everybody.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Is on the same page and everybody in your organization
understands that plan and that strategy right. And have a
great relationship with your players. I think that when you
have a great relationship with your players, they'll come to
you and they'll come and tell you, hey.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
We need this, we need that to be successful.
Speaker 5 (13:05):
And that's very important that those men or women are
very happy and that they know that you care.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You know.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
And then, last but not least, listen, be demanding and
hold everybody accountable.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
You know, I come around that corner.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
You may see a smile, but you let us be
losing no smiling, right. My job is to hold everybody accountable,
and so I will always talk to the guys, make
sure they understand what's the identity of this franchise, right,
And you have to say, this is who we are,
this is who we want to be, and make sure
(13:43):
those men or women understand that. And we've done that
with we changed the whole identity with the Washington commanders.
They know that we care about them, but they know
we want to win, right, and the fans know that,
and it's trickled down to everybody in that organization. Some
day one when we had a meeting with all the staff,
(14:04):
we told them were here to win, and we're going
to change the environment that that losing environment that they
were in before. And we've done that step by step
by step. We changed the stadium, we changed the locker room,
all the things that players were complaining about. Josh did
a wonderful job of jumping on top of that, right,
(14:25):
and so and then he sends us out and where
we're strong. So you make sure Mark, you might go
one way, but Alex, you might go another way because
there's plenty of things to tackle and then you tackle
some together. And so that's what I would say to you.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
So to that point, Magic, And actually I'm going to
turn this question on you too, Alex. You know, this
whole notion of an athlete turned owner is fascinating to me.
Speaker 4 (14:50):
This may come as a surprise.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I did not play professional sports, but I know some
people who did, and soon asked this question. As a
play former player turned owner, what do you say to players?
What's the sort of tack that you take to them,
because maybe they're in your sport, maybe they're a baseball
player or a soccer player or a football player.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
What's the tack you take them?
Speaker 2 (15:13):
What's the secrets that you can sort of the secret
language if there is one that you can speak to
them that you know a Josh or Mark Kent.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
Well, because you know, we talk about preparation and I
talk to our commander players about you know, preparation.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
It starts in practice. You got to.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Practice the way you're going to play on Sunday, so
that starts on Monday all the way through, right and
losing it's got to be a bad taste in your mouth, right,
and then we got to be a team. We lose
as a team, we win as a team.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Right.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
It can't be hitting agendas that kills you every time
everybody got there. If a player got his own agenda
and it's not about team goes, it's gonna kill you, You're
gonna lose, and it trickles down within the locker room.
So that's what I would say. But the one thing
(16:11):
we both have is that they respect us already. Yeah,
and I can say something that Mark can't say right, right,
because he's gonna look at me and say, oh, he's
been through it.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Right.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
Do you find that, Alex? I mean, like, what's your
experience so far with that?
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (16:25):
I do agree with every hold on one second, and
then I walk in with seventeen damn World Series or
World Championship ring, right, So I'm walking in with jewelry,
so they understand that language, real fans, Okay.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
Go ahead, that's right.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
No, I think.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
Look, I think Irvan and I one thing we know.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
We know how the players feel, we know where they
come from, we know the pressures, and like, make no mistake,
when Irvan and I played, it was hard to be
an athlete. It's no harder time to be an athlete
than today. Thank God. I ain't play when at the
height of social media, I got myself in enough trouble.
But in New York City, gonna championship.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
But no one knows what you're no one, no one knows,
nobody knows.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Good.
Speaker 4 (17:04):
That is your fine? All right? Can we do the
rapid fire?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Let's do it?
Speaker 4 (17:19):
All right?
Speaker 2 (17:19):
We're gonna so on our show, The Deal. Please tune
in and download wherever you got your podcast. We do
a little rapid fire segment. So we're gonna hit you
with this magic.
Speaker 4 (17:28):
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (17:29):
I'm ready? All right?
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Just the first thing that comes to your mind? What's
one word to describe your deal making style?
Speaker 1 (17:38):
One word? Wow? A lot of pressure? Yes, dang success?
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Or what's more important to you? Data or your gut?
Speaker 5 (17:50):
It's always my feel, feel, always my feel. I'm always
read the data, no question about it.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
But it's a feel.
Speaker 5 (18:00):
When they walk in and we I can just feel
is it gonna be a deal?
Speaker 1 (18:05):
And I know when it's not going to be a deal?
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Who's your dream deal making partner?
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (18:11):
Got a lot?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
Wow? That's big? Just the next guy? Growth mode.
Speaker 5 (18:20):
Hey, no, I'm I'm not choosy or picky the next woman,
next man. Let's go get it done. And the one
thing they gonna know about me, everything I'm supposed to
do as Mark, I'm gonna do it in more so,
whatever my role is, I'm gonna play it.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received on
deal making or business?
Speaker 5 (18:44):
Ron Berker once told me Irvin, I brought him this
little deal. He said, Irvan, the same amount of time
I gotta spend on that little deal, It's the same
amount of time I gotta spend making a billion dollars.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
I said, I got it.
Speaker 5 (18:55):
Thank you for that small deals.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
What's the worst advice you've ever been given?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
The worst advice?
Speaker 4 (19:08):
Uh?
Speaker 5 (19:09):
Not with smart women and men, they don't give you
really worst advice.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Thank God that I'm in rooms.
Speaker 5 (19:18):
Like this a lot, and that you with solid people
and people who have really been successful at what they do.
I think the worst advice Alex and I get it's
usually from people that they don't have much right a
success right.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
They always talk a.
Speaker 5 (19:36):
Good game, but they don't really back it up with,
you know, action and what they're doing.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Or what's your hype song before a big game, meeting
or negotiation.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
Oh that's good.
Speaker 5 (19:48):
Anything Michael Jackson, okay, all right, anything that's my man,
the greatest artists of all time to me, and and
I love Prince too, So either one put them on,
I'm good.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
All right.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
You want to few people to win the basketball triple
Crown and the NCAA Championship, five NBA championships, and an
Olympic gold medal, which meant the most too.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I think the gold medal.
Speaker 5 (20:10):
Because of this, I finally got a chance to play
with Michael and Larry.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
Yeah, I've always on my bucket list.
Speaker 5 (20:17):
I've always wanted to just throw a pass to both
of those guys, like a no, look past, like come
down that damn middle, and I'm coming down and there's
Larry in the corner, just no, looking real fast and
let him shoot that beautiful jump shot.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
Yeah, like Larry does.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
And then Larry talks to I love that day. He
talks trash.
Speaker 5 (20:40):
And then Michael come down the middle with the tongue out.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
Nothing like it.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
And I'm telling you, when I threw the note, look
past that both of them dudes, what's.
Speaker 4 (20:51):
Better than that?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
That was it?
Speaker 5 (20:53):
Yeah? Yeah, nothing like it. I love both of them.
They both made their teammates better. Michael's the greatest has
ever played this game, This dude when I played with him, Larry, So, Alex,
you're gonna love this. So Larry and I got all
the championships, right, Yeah, so he true story.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
So he walks in. It ain't Brian, you know. So
we walk in and Michael comes in.
Speaker 5 (21:26):
Larry and I are sitting here talking and he stands
right there and he says, I just want both of
you guys.
Speaker 1 (21:32):
To know there's a new sheriff in town. And we
had to bow down. You're right.
Speaker 5 (21:38):
And he went on to win six championships and never
lost in the finals. So it's hard to argue about
a man that great that could do the things that
he could do. And his player got some of Michael's
quality out in terms of how he can go up
in the air and do some of the things that
he can do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
Special, all right, last question for this room.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Very successful people aren't successful but with a lot of ambition.
What's your best advice to them who want a career
like yours?
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Wow? Man, oh man? Me giving these people advice? Wow?
Speaker 5 (22:18):
I think really just uh you know, continue to be
who they are and do what they do, and don't
forget this. You know, we all you know, it's great
to make a lot of money, but also we'll be
remembered by also giving back and how many people we
touched too, you know, and that's very important, and so
I would say, don't forget that part of it as well.
(22:40):
The impact that they can make, whether it's with their
wallet or with their power and expertise, is very important,
especially times like now, we really need that. And uh
so I would say, continue to do what they're doing.
I'm just excited to be here. Listen, Alex and I
when we had that meeting, never thought we would be here.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
I've been friends with Michael Milkin.
Speaker 5 (23:03):
For probably over thirty years and the man has just
been incredible in my life. And so for that Alex
and I to be on this stage at the Milking Conference,
oh man, this is I got goosebumps already, like I'm
getting ready to go play basketball, and so this is
really outstanding for me.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
All Right, well, magicic On behalf of Alex, the giddiest
man in Hollywood right now, Thank.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
You so much for your time.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
This was God blessed everybody.
Speaker 4 (23:31):
Thank you everyone.
Speaker 6 (23:38):
The Deal is a production from Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals.
The Deal is hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly.
This show was produced by Anamazarakis, Lizzie Phillip, and Stacey Wong.
Original music and engineering by Blake Maples.
Speaker 1 (23:55):
David E.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
Ravella is our managing editor. Our executive producers are Jason
key Elly, Brendan Francis, Neonham, Jordan Opplinger, Trey Shallowhorn, Andrew Barden,
Kelly Leferrier, and Ashley Hoenig. Sage Bauman is our head
of Podcasts. Rubob Shakir is our creative director. Art direction
is from Jacqueline Kessler. Joshua Devaux is our director of photography.
(24:20):
Alex Diacanis is our video editor. Listen to The Deal
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also tune into The Video Companion on Bloomberg
Originals and on Bloomberg TV. Thanks for listening.
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