Chuck Sullivan
{{short description|American football executive}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Chuck Sullivan
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|12|4}}
| birth_place = Silver Spring, Maryland{{cite book |title=Who's who in American Law |date=1977 |publisher=Marquis Who's Who |page=886}}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| high_school =
| college = Boston College
Boston College Law School
Harvard Law School
| pastexecutive =
- New England Patriots ({{nfly|1964}})
Assistant publicity director - New England Patriots ({{nfly|1970}}–{{nfly|1988}})
Executive vice president
}}
Charles William Sullivan (born December 4, 1942) is an American former lawyer and sports executive who was the vice president of the New England Patriots of the National Football League and owned the team's stadium, Foxboro Stadium.
Early life
Sullivan is the eldest son of Patriots' founder Billy Sullivan. While attending Boston College, Sullivan worked for the Patriots as assistant publicity director.{{cite news |last1=Ayres |first1=James |title=If the Sweater Fits...: Patriots Beckon Radcliffe |work=The Boston Globe |date=October 31, 1964}} He also dabbled in concert promotion, bringing Duke Ellington and The Kingston Trio to BC. After graduating from Boston College Law School, Sullivan spent two years in the United States Army during the Vietnam War as a captain. He spent one year at Fort Benning and one year in Thailand and helped organize Bob Hope's 1968 tour of Vietnam.{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Richard A. |last2=Stout |first2=Glenn |title=The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots |date=2018 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-1-328-91515-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QrHqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT291 |access-date=1 April 2023}} After leaving the Army, Sullivan earned a Master of Laws degree from Harvard Law School.
Legal career
After graduating from Harvard, Sullivan became an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell, where he worked on Ford Motor Company's defense in a federal antitrust lawsuit and represented First Boston for Bangor Punta in their legal battle with Chris-Craft Industries for control of Piper Aircraft. In 1971, Sullivan assisted the NFL in its defense against an antitrust suit filed by former Patriot quarterback Joe Kapp. He later worked for Edwards & Angell and was a partner in O'Melveny & Myers.{{cite news |last1=Borges |first1=Ron |title=Gripping tale from camp |work=The Boston Globe |date=August 5, 1985}}{{cite news |title=The Jackson Brothers Tour Is Set To Fly |work=Los Angeles Sentinel |date=June 14, 1984}}
Patriots
In 1970, Sullivan replaced Phil Fine on the Patriots board of directors after Fine resigned to head up the company building the team's new stadium.{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=Healthy Sellers bolsters Pats |work=The Boston Globe |date=November 28, 1970}} In 1977, Sullivan was elected chairman of the National Football League Management Council's executive committee.{{cite news |title=Sullivan, a Lawyer, Elected To Key Position by N.F.L. |work=The New York Times |date=June 23, 1977}}
=Dispute with Chuck Fairbanks=
Contract squabbles between the Sullivan family and offensive linemen John Hannah and Leon Gray soured head coach Chuck Fairbanks on Chuck Sullivan, who had forced Fairbanks to renege on his proposed contracts with Hannah and Gray.Tales from the Patriots' Sideline, page 46 In 1978, Fairbanks worked out a contract extension with Darryl Stingley, but after Stingley suffered paralysis following a violent hit in a preseason game, Chuck Sullivan reneged on the deal. Fairbanks resolved to leave the team after the season.John Hannah with Tom Hale: Offensive Conduct: My Life On The Line (Chicago: Triumph Books), pages 139–40 Hours prior to the final regular season game, Sullivan suspended Fairbanks for breaking his contract by agreeing to become head coach for the University of Colorado.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uhRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6153%2C6265616 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=wire service reports |title=Fairbanks tried to stay for duration |date=December 19, 1978 |page=1B}} Fairbanks was reinstated a few days later,{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vBRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=B-IDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6651%2C6933212 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=Fairbanks returns for playoffs |date=December 21, 1978 |page=3C}} well ahead of their divisional round playoff game (and the franchise's first home playoff game), but the second-seeded Patriots were upset 31–14 by the Houston Oilers.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wvJVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6084%2C118950 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=Oilers hit the gusher in Foxboro |date=January 1, 1979 |page=1C}}{{cite news |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1979/01/08/823275/a-wise-investment-wearing-a-new-bullet-proof-vest-to-protect-his-broken-ribs-dan-pastorini-threw-three-td-passes-as-houston-upset-new-england-31-14 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |last=Marshall |first=Joe |title=A wise investment |date=January 8, 1979 |page=16}} The Patriots sued Fairbanks for breach of contract, but on April 2, 1979, a group of CU boosters bought out his contract, making it possible for him to leave New England.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qOINAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W20DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5579%2C225274 |work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |agency=Associated Press |title=Fairbanks given release to coach Colorado Buffs |date=April 3, 1979 |page=13}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nCIoAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tXIFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1246%2C302982 |work=The Day |location=(New London, Connecticut) |agency=Associated Press |last=Braude |first=Dick |title=Patriots release Chuck Fairbanks|date=April 3, 1979 |page=28}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1979/10/08/824028/rocky-start-in-the-rockies-coach-chuck-fairbanks-had-a-litigious-time-getting-to-colorado-from-new-england-and-then-suffered-through-three-straight-losses-before-his-buffaloes-upset-indiana|magazine=Sports Illustrated|title=Rocky start in the Rockies|last=Nack|first=William|date=October 8, 1979|page=80}}
=Acquisition of Schaefer Stadium=
In 1981, Sullivan purchased Schaefer Stadium from Stadium Realty Trust for $6.28 million after winning a proxy fight with SRT management, which sought to sell the stadium to Canadian businessman Nelson Skalbania.{{cite news |last1=Whiteside |first1=Larry |title=Skalbania bid hits big snag: Chuck Sullivan produces proxies |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 29, 1981}}{{cite news |last1=Madden |first1=Michael |title=Chuck Sullivan buys stadium lease |work=The Boston Globe |date=November 7, 1981}} In 1983, the stadium was renamed Sullivan Stadium. That same year, Sullivan acquired a 10-year lease on Foxboro Raceway from owner Eddie Andelman.{{cite news |last1=Borges |first1=Ron |title=Sullivans set to run Foxboro |work=The Boston Globe |date=December 16, 1983}}
=Victory Tour=
Sullivan's Stadium Management Corp. financed The Jacksons 1984 Victory Tour. Sullivan offered the Jacksons two-thirds of the tour's gross revenue against a guaranteed $40 million, promised the group 83.4% of gross potential ticket revenues, which was at least 25% more than the industry standard for the time, and guaranteed the Jacksons an advance of $36.6 million. He also had to pay the Jacksons' parents and Don King, who first announced the tour and then was reportedly pushed aside by Michael Jackson.{{cite news |last1=Kronholtz |first1=June |title=Peddling Music: Pop and Rock Tours Like Michael Jackson's Grow More Complex |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 9, 1984}} The tour was expected to gross $70–80 million and Sullivan expected to make up to $13 million. He put Sullivan Stadium up as collateral for a $12.5 million loan to pay the first installment shortly before the tour started.
The tour sold what was then a record number of tickets.{{cite news |first1=Suzanne P. |last1=Cole |first2=Tim |last2=Engle |first3=Eric |last3=Winkler |work=The Kansas City Star |title=50 things every Kansas Citian should know |url=http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/19/3564081/50-things-every-kansas-citian.html |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=April 23, 2012}} The opening shows were widely covered in the national media and sold out.{{cite book|last=Taraborelli|first=J. Randy|title=Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958–2009|year=2009|publisher=Hachette Digital|isbn=978-0-446-56474-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HNUr4CBd7ksC&q=victory+tour+Europe|author-link=J. Randy Taraborrelli|access-date=September 22, 2012}} By the later shows, the novelty had worn off and the shows were failing to sell out. Dates planned for Pittsburgh were cancelled and by early October, the time of the shows in Toronto's Exhibition Stadium, a total of 50,000 tickets had gone unsold. In late November, the shows at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, were canceled. Officially the reason was that Jermaine was too sick with the flu to perform, but there was some speculation that slow ticket sales played a role as well. Sullivan was so short of cash he stopped payment on a $1.9 million check to the group after the Vancouver dates. Immediately afterwards, he suffered a minor heart attack, and left the hospital early to renegotiate with the Jacksons again, claiming losses of $5–6 million.{{cite book |title=The League: The Rise and Decline of the NFL |last=Harris |first=David |author-link=David Harris (protester) |year=1986 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York City |isbn=0-553-05167-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/leaguerisedeclin0000harr/page/629 629–32] |url=https://archive.org/details/leaguerisedeclin0000harr/page/629}}
=Financial difficulties=
Estimates of SMC's losses on the Victory Tour ranged from $13 million to $30 million. Sullivan himself put the figure around $25 million ($7 million to $8 million on the tour and $18 million on a merchandising deal with Michael Jackson).{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=Victory Tour meant defeat to Chuck Sullivan |work=The Boston Globe |date=April 1, 1988}} In August 1985, The Boston Globe reported that the Sullivans were looking to sell the Patriots, Sullivan Stadium, and their lease on Foxboro Raceway due to the family's financial and legal problems.{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=Sullivans Put Patriots on Block |work=The Boston Globe |date=August 16, 1985}}
In 1986, Foxboro Raceway president Joe Sullivan left the track after a dispute with Sullivan, who reportedly owed him around $170,000.{{cite news |last1=Borges |first1=Ron |title=Sullivans work out Foxboro dispute |work=The Boston Globe |date=August 23, 1986}} Later that year, the Massachusetts Racing Commission denied Sullivan's request for 1987 race dates due to the "financial insolvency" of Sullivan's Commonwealth Sports Properties and issues with the facility.{{cite news |last1=Singelals |first1=Neil |title=Foxboro's bid for '87 racing rejected |work=The Boston Globe |date=December 25, 1986}} On February 16, 1987, the track's owners seized the facility after Sullivan defaulted on his lease.{{cite news |last1=Madden |first1=Michael |title=Sullivans' fault line claims first victim |work=The Boston Globe |date=February 17, 1987}} Three months later, foreclosure proceedings were started against Sullivan after he failed to make payments on a 60-acre parcel of land across from Sullivan Stadium.{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=Sullivan Facing Foreclosure |work=The Boston Globe |date=May 19, 1987}}
In July 1987, The Boston Globe reported that the Sullivans were in $77.7 million in debt (the Patriots were in $33.4 million in debt, Stadium Management Corp. was $19.1 million in debt, Commonwealth Sports Properties was $7.75 million in debt, and Premier Properties was $6.4 million in debt). The Patriots had lost money despite making Super Bowl XX in 1986 and selling out all of its games at the highest ticket prices during the 1986 season.{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=Sullivans' team in loss column |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 26, 1987}} One month later, Kidde filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York claiming that Sullivan was in default on $11.8 million he owed the company, which had guaranteed a $12 million loan he took out from the Bank of Nova Scotia.{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=More Sullivan trouble: Kidde Inc. claims Chuck owes $11m |work=The Boston Globe |date=December 19, 1987}}
On November 6, 1987, the Massachusetts Land Court ruled that Connecticut Bank and Trust could sell Sullivan Stadium at auction. CBT was the stadium's second second mortgage holder and Sullivan had reportedly borrowed $9 million from CBT to help purchase the lease on Foxboro Raceway.{{cite news |last1=McDonough |first1=Will |title=More Sullivan woes: Family might lose stadium to creditors |work=The Boston Globe |date=November 7, 1987}} On February 23, 1988, Stadium Management Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to prevent the auction.{{cite news |title=Sullivans File For Chapter 11 to Save Stadium |work=Seattle Times |date=February 23, 1988}} On July 13, 1988, United States bankruptcy court judge James N. Gabriel removed Sullivan from management of Sullivan Stadium and ruled that US Trustee Vivan Grieman should begin proceedings to find a trustee to oversee SMC.{{cite news |last1=Blaudschun |first1=Mark |title=Sullivan loses control of stadium |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 14, 1988}} Robert Kraft outbid several competitors to buy the stadium out of bankruptcy court for $22 million.{{cite news|last1=Pazniokas|first1=Mark|last2=Garber|first2=Greg|title=The Art of Kraft|work=Hartford Courant|date=December 13, 1998}}
On March 17, 1988, the National Football League created a four-man committee to sell the deal or work out a deal to settle its $120 million in debts.{{cite news |last1=Eskenazi |first1=Gerald |title=N.F.L. Takes Over Indebted Patriots |work=The New York Times |date=March 18, 1988}} On March 30, 1988, it was announced that the Sullivans had agreed to sell the Patriots to Paul Fireman and Fran Murray.{{cite news |last1=Blaudschun |first1=Mark |title=Patriots, Fireman reach deal |work=The Boston Globe |date=April 1, 1988}} That July, Sullivan negotiated the sale of the team to Victor Kiam.{{cite news |last1=Duffy |first1=Bob |title=It's a new deal for Patriots |work=The Boston Globe |date=July 29, 1988}}
Post-Patriots
Since leaving the Patriots, Sullivan has practiced corporate law in New York City, run an event management business, and consulted for Veritone, an artificial intelligence company.{{cite news |last1=Freeman |first1=Mike |title=Chuck Sullivan prefers sidelines |work=The Boston Globe |date=August 16, 1990}}{{cite web |title=Charles Sullivan- A Legacy of Football, Entertainment & Medicine |url=https://groco.com/featured-guests/charles-sullivan-a-legacy-of-football-entertainment-medicine/ |website=GROCO |date=24 November 2020 |publisher=Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co. |access-date=2 April 2023}}
In 1998, Sullivan's license to practice law in New York was suspended indefinitely after he informed officials investigating allegations that he failed to return or misappropriated $1.4 million in investor funds that he was too ill to complete their interviews. In 2001, Massachusetts bar officials placed him on inactive disability status, which prevented him from practicing in that state as well.{{cite news |last1=Rowland |first1=Christopher |title=Sullivan Lived Under Cloud of Suits, Complaints Amid Deals Gone Sour |work=The Boston Globe |date=April 9, 2002}}
On April 5, 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused Sullivan of taking part in a $52 million investment scam with Dreyfus Corporation fund director Martin Fife, Raymond James Financial broker Dennis Herula, and British citizen Michael Clarke.{{cite news |title=S.E.C. Says Director at Dreyfus Had Role in $52 Million Fraud |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/06/nyregion/sec-says-director-at-dreyfus-had-role-in-52-million-fraud.html |access-date=2 April 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=April 6, 2002}}{{cite news |last1=Howe |first1=Peter J. |title=SEC Fraud Charge Names Sullivan |work=The Boston Globe |date=April 6, 2002}} On November 7, 2006, Sullivan agreed to pay back $910,884 in profits, $402,961 in interest, and a civil penalty of $120,000 to settle the case.{{cite news |last1=Kerber |first1=Ross |title=Ex-Pats official to pay $1.4m in accord |work=The Boston Globe |date=November 8, 2006}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Chuck}}
Category:Boston College Law School alumni
Category:Disbarred Massachusetts lawyers
Category:Disbarred New York (state) lawyers
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:Lawyers from New York City
Category:American music promoters
Category:New England Patriots executives
Category:Sullivan & Cromwell associates