The daughter of late Chargers owner Alex Spanos has filed a lawsuit in a bid to force the family trust's sale of the Los Angeles-based NFL franchise because, she says, her brother Dean's reckless spending has resulted in $353 million in mounting debt.
Dea Spanos Berberian filed a petition Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court contending that ballooning debt from the franchise is creating an estimated yearly loss of at least $11 million for the family trust. In fact, the budget shortfall is so bad that the family trust might be forced to renege on $22 million that has already been pledged to charities.
'Dean refuses to consider a sale of the Trust's Interest of the Chargers, insisting that the Co-Trustees continue to borrow more and more, and to force the charities and the beneficiaries to wait for years and to "hope" while Dean speculates further on a football team,' read Berberian's filing, which was obtained by DailyMail.com.
According to the petition, the trust had debts and expenses of $353 million as of September 30. Nearly half of that ($164,778,931) is due to the trust's investment in the Chargers. The trust's stake in the Chargers makes up 83 percent of its holdings.
'The trust is so heavily concentrated in owning a minority stake in a professional football team that beneficiaries have no choice but to depend almost solely on the rise or fall of the team,' the petition says. 'Maintaining the status quo is not an option.'
Spanos siblings Dea, Dean, Michael and Alexis each own 15 percent of the franchise, while 36 percent is owned by the Spanos family trust. Dean Spanos is the controlling owner. Dean and Dea were left as co-trustees of the trust following the deaths of their parents, Alex and Faye Spanos, in 2018.
The filing includes a letter in which Dean Spanos said he would hire an investment bank that would allow any member of the family to sell their stake at the end of the 2024 season.
Berberian says in the petition that would be too long.
'Every day that passes increases the risks that the charitable beneficiaries and the Spanos family legacy will suffer irreparable financial and reputational damage,' the filing says.
Alex Spanos bought the San Diego Chargers in 1984 and Dean Spanos took over managing the franchise in 1994.
Dean Spanos, Michael Spanos and Spanos Ruhl issued a statement saying operations of the team will be unaffected by the court filing and that they intend to contest the motion.
'Our parents, Alex and Faye, wanted the Chargers to be part of the Spanos Family for generations to come,' the statement began. '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.'
For her part, Berberian hired high-profile attorney Adam Streisand, who represented billionaire Steve Ballmer in his successful bid to buy the Los Angeles Clippers as well as Jean Buss in her winning effort to wrestle control of the Lakers from her brother.
Forbes valued the Chargers at $2.6 billion in its recent franchise rankings. The trust's share could be worth nearly $850 million after Daniel Snyder recently bought the remaining 40.5 percent of his minority partner's stake in the Washington Football Team for $875 million.
The franchise's value is expected to increase after the NFL agreed to a new media rights deal that will bring in more than $10 billion per year beginning in 2023. The Chargers also moved into SoFi Stadium last year and expect revenue to increase once fans are allowed.
