I get the impression disgraced former Rogers chairman and son of Rogers founder Ed Rogers is a fucking terrible businessman.

The Star: Former Rogers chair Edward Rogers actively fought plans to keep Masai Ujiri as head of the Toronto Raptors this summer — saying that he was not worth the amount offered — and then tried to extract an extraordinary benefit for his own company, the Star has learned.

To the relief of fans, the ploy by Rogers was unsuccessful, and the Raptors announced on Aug. 5 that Ujiri was staying on in Toronto as vice chairman and president of basketball operations.

However, new details have emerged suggesting that behind the scenes the former chair of Rogers Communications Inc. tried to sabotage a high-performing executive with whom he had grown disenchanted — and ultimately failed in his bid because he appeared not to fully understand the governance structure of the NBA franchise.

Tanenbaum and Bell were ready to lock Ujiri down, but, according to two sources close to the MLSE board, Edward Rogers was the holdout.

He told his partners he felt the compensation was too high, and, according to the MLSE sources and a source close to the NBA, Rogers was convinced the Raptors could be managed without Ujiri’s help by existing general manager Bobby Webster.

The increasingly tense situation came to a head during a late July meeting at Rogers’s Lake Rosseau cottage that cemented the executive’s antagonism toward the Raptors president.

Ujiri left the meeting feeling positive but Rogers told Tanenbaum it was one of the worst meetings he had ever had, according to MLSE sources. Rogers said the Raptors president was arrogant, according to sources, arriving with bodyguards, and that he failed to share his vision for the team.

The NBA source said Ujiri was caught off guard by that interpretation of the meeting, which he said had been amicable. The source also disputed that Ujiri brought bodyguards, saying the Raptors head had gone to Muskoka with his long-time driver so he could work in the car during the drive, as well as the videographer for a charitable project, who was tagging along as they were heading back to the airport after.

The sources said some time after the meeting, Rogers called Ujiri and told him he wasn’t worth the money he was being paid. The NBA source said the call left Ujiri feeling so angry and disrespected by Rogers that he considered taking a year off as president of the Raptors.

Others in the Maple Leaf Sports executive ranks went into damage-control mode, the two sources close to MLSE said, prompting a round of further calls to Ujiri to reassure him he would be protected from Rogers and urging him to ignore the comments.

Meanwhile, Rogers had been holding out on agreeing to the contract and said he would only back down if 12 conditions were met. Eleven of the conditions concerned contractual issues such as the terms of incentive-based pay, but the 12th had nothing to do with Ujiri’s compensation.

The MLSE sources said Rogers wanted Bell and Tanenbaum to agree to a complex and potentially contentious plan that would see Rogers Communications take its 37.5-per-cent stake in MLSE (which owns the Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Argos, Toronto FC and other teams), and combine it with the Toronto Blue Jays to create a separate company.

The Blue Jays are wholly owned by Rogers Communications and investors have long said that holding the team as part of the much larger telecom and media company undervalues the franchise.

Throughout the Ujiri negotiations, the sources said, Edward Rogers was working with Tony Staffieri, the now-former chief financial officer of Rogers Communications, who was also a board member at MLSE.

Bell and Tanenbaum would not agree to Edward Rogers’s demands, which would have involved signing off on a complex set of team valuations and issues around control and broadcast rights.

But they still had a way out. Tanenbaum is governor of the Raptors, a position that gives him ultimate power to make a call on personnel issues at the team, a structure designed by the NBA to avoid stalemates between noncontrolling owners of teams. The sources said Tanenbaum preferred to reach compromises with his partners, but in this case, he decided to overrule Rogers and sign Ujiri.

Rogers was furious, the sources said, and he and Staffieri tried to plead their case with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league’s general counsel Rick Buchanan. The two NBA officials told Rogers that Tanenbaum had the right to make a call on the contract, according to the sources.

On the contract negotiations, Edward Rogers said Sunday: “Masai understands better than anyone that negotiations test both sides. The best deals involve compromise and leave all parties feeling like winners.” He added he is pleased Ujiri remains in his current role.

“It is unfortunate that certain individuals continue to breach confidence by leaking and inappropriately divulging confidential board proceedings,” Rogers said. “Their motives are transparent. I won’t be dissuaded from doing what’s right for Rogers Communications Inc., its shareholders, employees, customers and other stakeholders.”

BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!   What a time to NOT be Edward Rogers.

He’s been dumped as the C.O.B of his dad’s company, his ENTIRE family is mocking him publicly and he still thinks he’s in charge.

Seriously.

The legitimate knocks on Edward are A) he’s not very bright B) he has no ethical compass and C) he’s a terrible business person.

By and large, Ed has been propped up by savvier board members like John Tory, Phil Lind, ETC.  Those guys were loyal to Ted and feel like they are protecting Ted’s legacy.  Unfortunately, Edward Rogers is totally inept and way out of his league.  He’s always been a terrible leader and makes decisions based on ego which is why the Raptors almost lost Masai.  Edward sees everyone and everything as a threat to himself because deep down he probably knows he’s not competent operating in the reality he lives so he looks to be a fly in the ointment.  It’s EGO/Entitlement 101.

Edwards issue with Masai?  Masai’s entourage.  Edward’s issue with Masai’s signing?  That he didn’t matter in the process. What did Edward do?  He went behind the backs of his partners and shareholders.

Kinda like how he’s holding 24k Rogers employees and investors hostage over being fired for doing the same thing with his own company.

I reached out to a few mutual friends this weekend and they all said the same basic things.

“Edward’s incompetence is record-setting”

“It’s legit Game Of Thrones stuff, bud

“He’s a corporate disaster”

“He’s delusional.  Ed thinks Rogers is his plaything with no regard for its employees or shareholders.”

“A bomb is going to go off on Monday…”

Martha Melinda and Ed’s Mom,  Loretta have all weighed in and they’ve warned Edward to ‘get’ while he can, disavowing him and his leadership in favor of current CEO Joe Natale.

Martha Rogers’ tweets continue. In the meantime, just posted:! “A statement on behalf of Loretta Rogers, Melinda Rogers-Hixon, Martha Rogers, John A. MacDonald, John Clappison, David Peterson, Bonnie Brooks, and Ellis Jacob.” #topoli pic.twitter.com/e9EqeGzRCP

— Cristina Tenaglia (@cristinaCTVnews) October 24, 2021

If it’s over for Edward, he’s pretending it isn’t.  Last night Edward held a NEW board meeting with some hand-picked assholes like well-known media assholes like Ivan Fecan (who’s the worst person you’ll ever meet) and Ed’s sister, Martha weighed in on Twitter because she’s now Ed’s actual boss.

Ding, ding.

Something HUGE is coming down this morning so get your popcorn ready.

DB