Chargers owner Dean Spanos’ sister, Dea Spanos Berberian, has filed a petition in Los Angeles County Court asking a judge to force a sale of the team.
Berberian’s argument is that “mounting debt has imperiled the family’s finances and the only solution is to put the NFL franchise on the market.”
Berberian alleges the trust’s debts and expenses exceed $353 million.
“Every day that passes increases the risks that the charitable beneficiaries and the Spanos family legacy will suffer irreparable financial and reputational damage,” if the team isn’t sold, the petition reads.
According to the court filing, this has been going on behind the scenes for quite awhile. Spanos told his siblings in a 2019 letter that he would retain an investment bank at the end of the 2024 season to help sell the team.
However, Berberian is attempting to force a move sooner than that.
In a statement posted on the team’s website attributed to Dean, Alexis Spanos Ruhl and Michael Spanos, the three siblings said they will keep the team in the family, adding they are confident it’s not going to happen.
Our parents, Alex and Faye, wanted the Chargers to be part of the Spanos Family for generations to come,” the statement said. “For the three of us the Chargers is one of our family’s most important legacies, just as it was for our parents. Unfortunately, our sister Dea seems to have a different and misguided personal agenda. If Dea no longer wishes to be part of this family legacy, the three of us stand ready to purchase her share of the franchise, as our agreements give us the right to do. In the meanwhile, the operations of the Chargers will be entirely unaffected by this matter, which relates only to the 36 percent share of the team that was owned by our parents. The three of us are entitled to three-fourths of that 36 percent share in any event, and under no circumstances will this situation impact control of the franchise. The three of us will remain firmly united as we seek to fulfill our parents’ wishes to make every decision in the best interests of the Los Angeles Chargers.