That laughter you’re hearing is the owners of the Seattle SuperSonics. Or rather, the owners of the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics as a settlement has been reached between ownership and the City of Seattle for as much as $75 million. The deal allows the Sonics to get out of the last two years on the KeyArena lease and relocate the team this off-season to Oklahoma City.

How soon will they move? Principle owner Clay Bennett said the move begins Thursday.

The deal calls for an immediate payment of $45 million, and an additional $30 million paid to Seattle in 2013, should the Washington State legislature pay $75 million in funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009. The City Council still has to approve the settlement.

See the MOU of the settlement agreement (PDF)

If it sounds odd to say that Bennett and his minority owners are laughing after shelling out $45 million, consider…

Bennett claimed during the trial that the Sonics would lose $60 million if forced to fulfill the last two years on the KeyArena lease. Let's say for all intents and purposes, it's $50 million, as opposed to the $60 million the Sonics were saying they'd lose. The Sonics owners made a sweetheart deal in Oklahoma City for the upgrades to the Ford Center arena, and on top of that, will be the only major league team in Oklahoma. Profits will surely be higher during at least the two years that Sonics might have been forced into playing in Seattle.

$45 million is a drop in the bucket.

For one thing, Oklahoma City has done everything but sell off their first born children to get the attention of the NBA. Opened in 2002, the Ford Center hosted New Orleans Hornets for two seasons after Hurricane Katrina.

If a six-year old, barely used facility weren’t good enough, voters passed a 15-month, one-cent sales tax in March to add $120 million in renovations to Ford Center, with plans to upgrade the facility with restaurants, clubs, suites and new locker rooms.

So, the Sonics move from Seattle, where the market is certainly bigger, but they had to compete with the Seahawks, Mariners and UW colligate sports, to Oklahoma City where they will be the only big league show in the State, and a deal with the Ford Center that maximizes profit for ownership.

David Stern, whether pressured to grant a small olive branch, or not, offered the slightest of opportunities for the NBA to return Seattle in the near future.

“We understand that city, county, and state officials are currently discussing a plan to substantially rebuild KeyArena for the sum of $300 million," Stern said in a statement. "If this funding were authorized, we believe KeyArena could properly be renovated into a facility that meets NBA standards relating to revenue generation, fan amenities, team facilities, and the like."

However, Stern added, "given the lead times associated with any franchise acquisition or relocation and with a construction project as complex as a KeyArena renovation, authorization of the public funding needs to occur by the end of 2009 in order for there to be any chance for the NBA to return to Seattle within the next five years."

The $45 million will cover lost revenues and fulfill other obligations for KeyArena. Taxpayers uninterested in paying for sports facilities for wealthy owners win the day.

Fans get the sucker punch. Well, that and the name, and team colors stay in Seattle. Welcome to the consolation prize.

Seattle's case turned out to be weaker than one expected. It certainly didn't help that Slade Gordon, Steve Ballmer and Mike McGavick tried to "drive a wedge" between the Sonics and the NBA. Try this Powerpoint presentation given the now infamous name the "poisoned well" for details.

Lawyers for the Sonics also discredited sports economist Andrew Zimbalist, who was a witness for the City.

Bennett, on the other hand, was able to dodge damning emails showing that the new owners of the Sonics were planning on relocating the team to Oklahoma City.

In emails between minority owner Tom Ward and Bennett on April 17, 2007, there seems clear evidence that the owners were looking to relocate.

"Is there any way to move here for next season, or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?" Ward wrote.

"I am a man possessed!" Bennett responded. "Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys. the game is getting started!"

"That's the spirit.

I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here next year," said Aubrey McClendon, another minority owner of the Sonics.

Under oath in the case, Bennett said of the email, "I am not responding to moving to Oklahoma. I'm reiterating my commitment to the process to stay in Seattle."

Somehow he did this with a straight face.

His face is certainly not straight tonight. There is surely backslapping and high-fives going around. $45 million? Easy money. They'll make that back in short order.

So, the team will move, and the honeymoon will begin in Oklahoma City. Chances are that attendance will be average after the honeymoon is over, but that’s not what the NBA or the soon-to-be-former Sonics owners are focusing on. They’re looking at the increased revenues. Or, if you’re Bennett and Co. profits.

41 years of NBA history in Seattle has been passed over for the almighty dollar. Seattle’s worse for it, and the NBA and one of its owners come off as petty thieves.

Remember... It’s just business.

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer.

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