Report: Embittered Raptors Co-Owner Trashed Masai Ujiri During Contract Negotiations

It’s a sordid story that seems straight out of HBO’s hit show Succession. Edward Rogers, the disliked heir to communications giant Rogers—which co-owns the Toronto Raptors and the Toronto Maple Leafs—personally called Raptors’ president Masai Ujiri this past summer and blasted the revered executive, saying he wasn't worth what was on the table during contract negotiations. 

Fortunately for basketball fans in Toronto and all of Canada, the chairman of the board Larry Tanenbaum (in essence, the true “owner” of the team, and the man who orchestrated the NBA coming to Toronto in the first place), pulled his trump card on that other Trump’s good friend, Rogers, and stepped in to save the deal, according to a story in the Toronto Star. 

Rogers reportedly went so far as contacting (whining to?) NBA commissioner Adam Silver about how his very unpopular opinions were not being listened to by the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) board. Silver basically told him, you're out of luck. 

Rogers has been embroiled in a family storm to try to take over the Rogers Communications helm after the death of his father, Ted. Ed's sister, Martha Rogers, blasted him in a series of tweets this past weekend, urging him to step down, while threatening to expose his "Trump scandal." 

Next: the truth about his Trump scandal 5 mos ago, their involvement threatening us to suppress it or else they’ll be “severe personal repercussions” (and they very much can). Navigator must be shitting their pants, there’s so much more. I’ll gladly blow up my life to stop this.

— Martha Rogers (@MarthaLRogers) October 23, 2021

Enjoy your pretend “board meeting”, Ed. Here’s your problem: it’s not legal, so I’m going to fight like hell for the 24,000 employees, 10M+ customers & ⚾🏀🏒🏈 fans. No compromises, and this time the good guys will win. #OldGuardDown

— Martha Rogers (@MarthaLRogers) October 24, 2021

Sounds like Ujiri found himself caught in the crossfire of a s**tstorm this summer. However, saner heads prevailed across the rest of the Raptors' ownership group, and all is good for Masai and Co.

Photo Credit:  Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports