James Dolan is here to stay as owner of the Knicks and Rangers, and he will be making a nice salary in the years to come.
As The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov reported on Monday, Dolan signed his new contracts last month to continue his control of MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment, and will make at least $26.5 million annually as a result.
Dolan's previous contracts expired in early 2021, but were signed on Dec. 27, per The Athletic.
MSG Sports, which holds all of Madison Square Garden's teams, and MSG Entertainment, which controls the arena's live entertainment ventures, will each net Dolan a combined base salary of at least $3.25 million as executive chairman of MSG Sports and CEO of MSG Entertainment.
With these new contracts, Dolan and his family will keep its control over MSG Sports, and as a result the Knicks and Rangers, as shareholders and as the majority of its board of directors. Per Vorkunov, the Dolans hold eight of 17 board seats at MSG Sports. One other seat belongs to former Knicks president Steve Mills, while a seat on MSG Entertainment's board belongs to former team president in Isiah Thomas.
With the Dolan family continuing its control of MSG Sports, a change in control would have to be approved by at least five of the six votes from the Dolan Family Committee. Dolan himself holds two votes, meaning he could block and sale that would change who controls MSG Sports. In translation: despite many Knicks fans hopes, Dolan will continue to run the Knicks, as he has since 1999, until he no longer wants to.
Dolan was sued back in 2019 by a shareholder, who said Dolan was overpaid and spent more time with his band, JD and the Straight Shot, than being an MSG executive. By that time, Dolan had been paid roughly $76 million over a three-year period, and he reached a settlement in 2020 and paid back more than $30 million in MSG stock.
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