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David Samson was the President of the Miami Marlins baseball team from 2002-2017.
It came out earlier this week that the Jets offered buyouts to 170 of their 250 employees.
On his podcast, Samson offered some analysis of what took place, from the perspective of a long-term pro sports team executive and lawyer.
These are his words, not mine.
“When you offer buyouts to people, you are trying to say, ‘We do not agree or believe in what you’ve done or what we’ve had you do, so we are starting from scratch and when we start from scratch we’d like it to not be with you, so we are going to offer you something that you normally wouldn’t get. We are going to offer you, let’s say, 18 months of severance, plus insurance. We are going to offer you a package that is so tempting that you are going to take it.’ We will show losses, and then we have a clean slate,” Samson said.
According to Samson, buyouts can protect the team legally
“The reason buyouts are offered to employees is because the company has decided that you are not the right employee for them and it’s way easier to agree on a severance package, prior to a termination, because you avoid litigation,” Samson said. “It’s why every time you try to terminate somebody, you try to get them to agree to resign or agree to severance package and agree not to sue in advance. A buyout package is simply a formal way to get severance to people who you want to get rid of without calling it a ‘termination,’ but don’t be confused, it’s a straight termination.”
Why wouldn’t all the people who are offered buyouts take them?
“The reason you wouldn’t take it is ‘I don’t know if I can get another job at this rate,'” Samson said. “Guess what, as a business operator, I don’t care if you can get another job at the rate we are paying you, that means we are overpaying you.”
Samson believes people who don’t take the buyout are delusional.
“My experience with employees is this – if you think you’ve got something more to give to a company and you don’t take the buyout, don’t be deluded into the fact that you are going to be kept anyway,” Samson said. “If you don’t take the buyout, there is a good chance you are going to be terminated.”
But the termination might not happen immediately.
“It won’t happen today because that would be retaliation – just wait a few week, a few months or even a year, then you get rid of it by eliminating the job or claiming nonperformance,” Samson said. “The advantage always goes to the company. Woody Johnson was careful when meeting with the media to say these are ‘not layoffs.’ Buyout packages are exactly layoffs.
“He went on to say we are offering the buyouts not because we want to fire anyone – we want to improve the culture. Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining. You know exactly what buyouts are. They are exactly layoffs.”
April 3, 2025
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